


Under the Sea

by onelittlespeck



Category: One Piece
Genre: Adventure, Eventual Romance, F/M, Humor, Lies, Not Beta Read, Rating May Change, Reader-Insert, Selkies, The Author Regrets Everything, The Author Regrets Nothing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-07
Updated: 2019-05-12
Packaged: 2019-06-23 12:21:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 13
Words: 29,516
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15606162
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/onelittlespeck/pseuds/onelittlespeck
Summary: The Grand Line is full of strange and mysterious things from cursed fruits to mermaids, and some mysteries are more well-known than others. A young selkie, new to the sea and new to piracy, joins the Straw Hat crew in hopes of finding others of her kind. Take one rubber captain, one crew of crazy Straw Hats, a sheltered selkie, and mix to get one epic adventure full of humor and adventure and love.AKAThe selkie One Piece fanfic that no one asked for and arguably no one wanted, but you're getting it anyway.





	1. On a Ship Far Far Away

Luffy laughed as the sea creature popped its head above water and made a face at him before sinking below the waves. The creature repeated this several times, each time diving back under before Luffy could return the gesture with his own faces.  
“What are you doing?” Nami growled from her impromptu desk on the Going Merry’s deck.  
She had not been in a good mood since learning that compasses did not work in the Grand Line and the frequent weather changes didn’t seem to help either.  
“Nothin’,” Luffy singsonged his reply.  
Luffy didn’t want Nami ruining his fun.  
“You’re doing something,” Nami muttered suspiciously.  
Luffy tried his best to look innocent.  
He failed miserably.  
Vivian, or Vivi, was drawn out of her daydreaming by his and Nami’s conversation. She had been quiet since Ms. All Sunday snuck abroad. Luffy almost frowned at the memory. He didn’t like people upsetting his friends. Vivi looked over at Luffy curiously so Luffy called her over. She was more fun than Nami and she could use some cheering up. Quickly, Vivi joined Luffy (who was sitting in his spot on the ram head) and leaned over to look into the water. The sea creature appeared again before noticing Vivi and ducking back under.  
“Wait come back,” Luffy cried after it, afraid he had scared it away.  
The sea creature did a little jump out of the water and sent Luffy a wink. He cheered. He hadn’t scared it off after all.  
“Oh, it’s a seal!” Vivi clapped her hands in amusement as the seal pulled off several more tricks.  
“A seal?” Luffy asked, one finger already up his nose.  
“Yes,” Vivi lectured excitedly, “They’re fairly docile mammals who are known for their swimming and diving abilities.”  
“If it swims, doesn’t that make it a fish?” Luffy questioned confused.  
After all fish live in the ocean and this seal clearly lived in the ocean.  
“No, fish breathe water,” Vivi explained, “Sea mammals, like this seal, breathe air and can hold their breath for a really long time.”  
“Oh,” Luffy pretended to understand.  
He didn’t.  
“They usually stick pretty close to their islands,” Vivi continued, “I’ve never seen one this far out at sea.”  
“Hey,” Luffy spoke up as a thought struck him, “Can we eat it?”  
“What? No!” Vivi gasped, “Seals are an endangered species!”  
“Besides,” Nami joined them, “Look how cute it is, who could eat something that cute?”  
“Meat is meat.”  
Nami slapped Luffy up the back of his head.  
“Hey!” Luffy scowled. He had a point!  
A splash of sea water hit him in the face. Luffy blinked at the seal, who seemed to be laughing at him.  
“See?” Nami giggled, “Even the seal thinks you have poor manners.”  
“We could still eat it,” Luffy grumbled, only to be hit with another wave of water.  
“Damn it!” Luffy cursed before scrambling to his feet, “Come up here and fight me like a man!”  
“It’s a seal,” Nami deadpanned.  
“Fine!” Luffy growled, “Come up here and fight me like a seal then!”  
“Mr. Captain no!” Vivi called out, “Seals are a rare protected species!”  
Luffy didn’t understand what that meant but he was sure that wasn’t a reason to not fight.  
“It started it!” Luffy defended himself.  
“It’s a seal,” Nami pointed out, “It couldn’t have started it. Besides, it lives in the ocean and since you can’t swim…”  
Nami was interrupted by a loud thump as the seal leaped out of the water and belly-flopped onto the deck. Nami stared at it, at a loss for words. Luffy crowed triumphantly.  
“Seals are mammals,” Vivi repeated, “They can live on land.”  
“Alright!” Luffy cheered, “Now we can fight!”  
Zoro woke up at the mention of a fight.  
“Who are we fighting?” he yawned.  
“Luffy is fighting a seal,” Nami said with distaste.  
“Should be interesting,” Zoro nodded at Luffy, “Give it your best.”  
“You can’t be serious!” Nami screeched.  
“No! Mr. Swordsman, don’t encourage him!” Vivi yelled in horror, “Seals are a protected species.”  
“The seal agreed to the fight!” Luffy shouted.  
“Don’t drag the poor seal into your idiotic beliefs!” Nami snapped at him, “Just because it flopped up here, doesn’t mean it agreed to your fight!”  
“Does too,” Luffy argued.  
Nami let out a sound of rage but before she could make a move against her captain, Luffy was beaten down by a black-clad leg.  
“Sanji,” Nami smiled, “Finally someone with sense.”  
“Ah, my beautiful angel!” Sanji swooned, “My name has never sounded so wonderful before!”  
Sanji gave Nami an exaggerated bow.  
“What has our shitty captain done now?” Sanji asked, swiftly kicking Luffy before he rose to his full height.  
“S’not fair!” Luffy bellowed. The seal had agreed to the fight!  
Sanji and Nami ignored him.  
“He wants to fight this poor creature,” Nami said, batting her eyelashes at Sanji, “Isn’t that awful?”  
Sanji glanced at the seal. The seal stared back at him.  
“Can we eat it?” Sanji questioned.  
“Sanji!”  
“Mr. Cook! No! It’s an endangered species!”  
“Too bad,” Sanji murmured, eyeing the seal like it was a meal.  
Nami slapped Sanji upside the head.  
“Now can I fight it?” Luffy whined.  
“No!” Sanji, Vivi and Nami all shouted.  
Zoro just shrugged. Usopp was missing the whole event because he was steering the ship.  
“I want to fight,” a voice piped up.  
Everyone on the ship glanced at each other in confusion before they all turned to the seal, wide-eyed in disbelief.  
“Did it?” Sanji began.  
“I want to fight,” the seal repeated.  
“It’s a talking seal!” Luffy bellowed ecstatically.  
“It’s a talking seal,” Vivi said, stunned.  
“It’s a talking seal,” Nami whispered fearfully.  
“It’s a talking seal,” Sanji confirmed.  
“I need a drink,” Zoro grunted.  
“Would you prefer if I fought in this form?” the seal asked.  
There was a sudden shift in the air pressure and where there had been a seal was now a human woman. Around her neck was a familiar pelt. If possible, the crew’s jaws dropped further.  
“Cooooool!” Luffy complimented, the first to get over his shock.  
“Thank you?” the seal-turned-woman replied in a confused tone.  
“Hey! Hey!” Luffy practically vibrated with excitement, “Join my crew!”  
“Luffy,” Nami groaned in exasperation, “Stop asking everyone to join your crew!”  
“Good luck with that,” Zoro muttered at Nami.  
“But it’s a seal that turned into a person!” Luffy pointed out as if that explained everything.  
To him, it did. Nami sighed in defeat as Sanji decided a cigarette was in order.  
“Hey! Hey!” Luffy bounded up to the woman, “How do you do that?”  
Before the woman could answer, Luffy began to ask more questions.  
“Can you turn into anybody? Can you turn into me? Where do the clothes come from? Do you turn into other animals? Why a seal? Are you a human-seal or a seal-human?”  
The entire time, Luffy pressed himself closer and closer and the woman shrank further and further into herself.  
“You’re making her uncomfortable!” Sanji yelled, before kicking Luffy halfway across the ship.  
“My beautiful mistress of the sea,” Sanji greeted the woman with a kiss on her hand, “What brings a gorgeous creature like you abroad our humble ship?”  
If possible the woman shrank further into herself and flushed a bright red.  
“Uhh…I…” the woman stuttered, “He asked for a fight?”  
“See Nami,” Luffy taunted as he peeled himself off the deck, “The seal did want to fight!”  
“I give up,” Nami sighed.  
“Uhh,” the woman interrupted, “My name is Isla.”  
“What a beautiful name for a beautiful woman!” Sanji complimented.  
Isla looked overwhelmed.  
“Shitty cook, you’re flirting with a seal,” Zoro grumbled.  
Sanji launched a kick at the swordsman’s head, which he easily deflected.  
“She is a stunning woman!” Sanji defended, aiming more kicks at Zoro, “And all women deserve respect and admiration!”  
Zoro was forced to dodge a few kicks as he pulled out his swords.  
“Ya wanna fight, ya shit cook?” Zoro grinned in anticipation.  
“I will fight you on behalf of all women!” Sanji declared passionately.  
Luffy bounced back to Isla’s side as Sanji and Zoro began fighting.  
“Isle,” Luffy began seriously.  
“Isla,” she corrected.  
“Island,” he tried again.  
“Isla,” she corrected again.  
“Lala,” Luffy started.  
“That’s not even close!” Nami shouted in frustration.  
Isla just blinked.  
“Lala! Join my crew!”


	2. Once Upon a Sea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luffy insists Isla join his crew. Sanji flirts. Zoro drinks. And Isla thinks everyone on this ship is weird.

“Uhmm…no…thank you?” Isla managed to stutter out at the exuberant straw-hatted boy.  
His face immediately fell and his lower lip jutted out in a large pout. It would have been comical if she hadn’t been on the receiving end. Isla was a people pleaser and it went against every fiber of her being to tell him no, even though she had no desire to join this strange pirate’s crew.  
“I…uhm…I just don’t even know your name,” Isla attempted to think up a good excuse.  
Luffy’s sudden grin told her she had failed at that.  
“It’s Luffy!” he responded, practically beaming, “Will you join now?”  
“But…uh…” Isla stuttered, “You don’t even know me!”  
Surely that would persuade him?  
“I know you’re a seal that becomes a person! Will you join now?”   
Clearly, not.  
“Hmm,” Luffy tapped his chin deep in thought, “Or are you a person that becomes a seal?”  
“B…both I guess,” Isla shrugged.  
“Both it is!” Luffy declared, “And that’s all I need to know!”  
“No, it isn’t!” cried several different voices.  
All of the protests came from Luffy’s own crew. They seemed exasperated by their captain asking random strangers to join their crew. Isla guessed it was a habit of his.  
“I...” Isla attempted to get the conversation back on topic, “I really just came here to fight. I want to see how strong I’ve become.”  
“If you want to fight a real pirate,” a voice announced, “You should fight me! The brave captain Usopp!”  
A man with curly hair and a long nose appeared at the top of the stairs, striking a dramatic pose.  
“I’m the captain!” Luffy argued.  
Isla wondered if this was the norm for this crew.  
“Usopp,” the redheaded woman flashed Usopp a dangerous smile, “Whose steering the ship?”  
There was a silence as everyone turned to look at Usopp.  
“Oh shit.”  
This statement was followed by a chorus of screams (most berating Usopp although a few were concerned about who was manning the ship). There was a scramble to the steering wheel, some more screaming, and finally the redheaded woman herself took over steering. Although she swore up a storm while doing so.  
“Uhmm…now that that’s settled, do you suppose?” Isla began, but she was interrupted by a loud gurgling sound.  
The source of the sound seemed to be Luffy. Luffy clutched his stomach, suddenly appearing weak.  
“Are…are you alright?” Isla asked concerned.  
She probably shouldn’t be asking that of some random pirate she was trying to fight, but Isla wasn’t sure if there was proper fighting protocol anyway. Maybe there was a book on it.  
“So hungry,” Luffy gasped, his stomach making even louder noises now, “Sanji! Feed me!”  
Luffy collapsed onto the leg of the strange blonde man and Luffy wrapped his arms tightly around his leg.  
“Get off,” the man ordered, attempting to shake Luffy off.  
Luffy just held on tighter.  
“Feed me!” Luffy demanded.  
He had some impressive strength for someone claiming to be so weak only moments ago. The blonde man, Sanji, was now frantically waving one leg around in the air in an attempt to kick Luffy off. Luffy swung through the air wildly, still gripping Sanji’s leg and demanding to be fed. Isla wasn’t sure if she should be impressed by the strength of the two men or concerned about their mental health. Maybe she should leave the ship before she caught their weirdness.  
“It’s not lunch time!” Sanji yelled, now smoking a cigarette as well.  
Isla began eyeing her exit.  
“I could eat,” the blue-haired maiden spoke up.  
Immediately, Sanji managed to shake off Luffy and appear in front of the woman.  
“Then I shall begin preparing lunch right now, Princess!” Sanji declared with hearts in his eyes.  
“FOOD!” Luffy cheered.  
“And I insist our beautiful mistress of the sea join us!” Sanji declared.  
Everyone glanced over to where Isla was, only to see her on the rail of the ship, preparing to dive in.  
“I…,” Isla stumbled on her words, “I was just going to leave.”  
Isla gestured towards the ocean and made to jump in.  
“Nooooooo!” Luffy wailed loudly, “You can’t leave! You have to join my crew!”  
He stretched his arms and wrapped them around her.  
“Ahhhh!” Isla screamed in surprise.  
Panicking she turned into a seal in an attempt to escape. Unfortunately the rubber arms just tightened around her new form. There was a moment of confusion before all hell broke loose. With Sanji demanding Luffy let her go while Isla frantically changed back and forth and Luffy screaming about a new crew member, while Nami just sighed.

And that was how Isla ended up joining the Straw Hat Crew for lunch. She wasn’t entirely sure how she had been tricked into sitting in their kitchen, all she knew it was that it involved the redheaded woman.  
“Here you go, my sweet,” Sanji cooed at her.  
Warily, like a frightened animal, Isla took the plate of food from him and scooched closer to Vivi’s side. She seemed to be the only sane person on this entire ship. Well her and Nami, but Nami scared Isla. Sanji only grinned at Isla before continuing to serve the others. Lunch was just as rowdy as the crew. Usopp was telling some sort of story (that Isla wasn’t sure anyone was listening to) while Zoro drank an impressive amount of alcohol and Luffy ate every morsel of food within arm’s reach. Considering his stretchy arms, that was pretty much the whole table.  
Isla kind of wished she had gotten to fight Luffy. She had never gotten to fight a Devil Fruit user before and she wasn’t sure her panicked attempts at leaving the ship counted. A rubbery hand attempted to grab her plate and Isla swiftly moved it out of the way.  
“Good reflexes,” Zoro complimented.  
“T…thanks,” Isla blushed, “My brother is a food thief too.”  
“Yeah, but I bet he doesn’t have rubber arms,” Nami stabbed her fork at Luffy’s hand which was attempting to take her chicken.  
“Ib he a bleab too?” Luffy asked around a mouthful of food.  
“Uhmm,” Isla looked at the others confused.  
“Is your brother a seal too?” Usopp translated.  
Luffy nodded in agreement, still eating.  
“Oh…uh,” Isla replied, “No he’s not. Only females are selkies.”  
“Blekie?” Luffy piped up.  
Sanji snapped his fingers.  
“I think I remember reading something about them,” Sanji started.  
“You read shitty cook?” Zoro mocked.  
He blocked a kick with his forearm.  
“Of course I read, moss-for-brains!” Sanji huffed, “Especially stories about pretty woman! Selkies are supposed to be the cousins of mermaids. Sea creatures that turn into beautiful maidens that dance in the moonlight!”  
Sanji proceeded to look dreamily at Isla. Isla hunched down in her seat, wishing she hadn’t said anything.  
“Is that true?” Vivi asked.  
“S…sort of,” Isla explained, “We do share some common ancestry with merpeople and fishmen, but that was generations ago.”  
“And the dancing under the moon?” Zoro questioning, raising an eyebrow in disbelief.  
“Uh…well yeah as far as I can tell,” Isla shrugged.  
“You can tell?” Nami prodded.  
Isla wasn’t sure she felt comfortable sharing her personal story with this group of strangers, but they seemed friendly if a little weird. Plus they were feeding her and she was always bad at saying no.  
“My…my mother was a selkie who got separated from her pod,” Isla explained, “She married a human and had my brother and I. I only found out I was a selkie a few months ago. I’m trying to find our pod.”  
“What about your mother?” Usopp asked.  
“S…sh…she,” Isla’s stutter picked up, “She couldn’t make the journey.”  
Isla awkwardly fumbled with her utensils as the table fell into silence.  
“I’m sorry,” Vivi spoke up, eyes full of sympathy, “Aren’t seals supposed to be social creatures though? Are you okay swimming the Grand Line on your own?”  
“Y…yeah!” Isla nodded vigorously, “There’s so much to see! And I mean the sea creatures can be a little antisocial, but I’m never alone in the ocean!”  
Isla plastered a smile on her face. This is why she hated being human sometimes. Humans felt so much and it was all so complicated. Emotions were far easier as a seal.  
“Is that why you want to be strong?” Luffy’s tone was more serious than Isla had heard so far, “So you can find your family?”  
“Y…yes,” Isla answered, “I can sort of sense them. I don’t know where they are exactly, but I know they’re here on the Grand Line somewhere. I just need to be strong enough to find them.”  
“The Grand Line is a dangerous place,” Zoro pointed out, “Especially to travel alone.”  
“I…I can do it,” Isla’s smile was starting to falter.  
She knew it was a long and tiring journey. She already had to voyage here from the South Seas. It had been hard and achingly lonely, but she had done it.  
“Join my crew!” Luffy demanded.  
“Luffy!” Nami admonished him, but without much force behind it.  
“We’ll help you find your family!” Luffy declared.  
“I…I’ll be fine,” Isla mustered out.  
She was beginning to feel overwhelmed again. Everyone was staring at her. They looked at her with such pity and concern. Her emotions were overflowing. She needed to escape. She needed to get away. She needed to be a seal.  
“T…thank you for lunch,” Isla said, getting up from her seat, “B…but I’m going to leave now.”  
Luffy stood up from his chair, blocking the doorway.  
“We can help you,” he told her.  
Isla’s emotions exploded.  
“DON’T TRAP ME!” Isla yelled in a panic, shoving Luffy out of the way.  
She forgot to control her strength and heard the crash as Luffy slammed into the table, breaking it. Isla didn’t stick around to see what happened. She barreled out of the kitchen and leaped over the stairs, landing heavily on the deck, before sprinting towards the rail. Isla dived, transforming midair.  
It was like the dam had been closed. Her panic, her worry, her sadness, they were all so muted in this form. Isla breeched the surface, turning to look at the ship. Surely they would leave her alone now? Especially after that disaster.   
Instead, Isla was surprised to see Luffy standing on the railing, his crew behind him.  
“Lala!” Luffy called out.  
“It’s Isla!” Nami corrected.  
“Lala!” Luffy yelled out at the sea, “Come back!”  
“Go away!” Isla yelled back, sounding every bit the petulant teenager she was.  
“No!” Luffy refused, “I think you’re scared and you’re lonely! I think that’s why you found us today! Come back and we can talk!”  
“I just wanted a fight!” Isla had no idea why she wasn’t swimming away. She knew she could and there was little chance the crew would catch up with her, but she stayed.   
“Please Isla,” Vivi begged, “Mr. Captain means it! He can help!”  
“If you don’t come back to talk, I’m coming after you!” Luffy declared.  
“What?” Usopp gasped, “Luffy you can’t swim!”  
Isla watched in horror as Luffy slipped off his sandals.  
“You’ll sink like a rock!” Nami berated him.  
“Well than she better come back,” Luffy stated.  
Isla could only watch, frozen, as the man she had met mere hours ago threatened his own life just to talk her.  
Luffy jumped.  
His crewmates screamed, but Isla’s eyes were on Luffy’s form, which sank beneath the depth of the waves in the blink of an eye. Before she could think on it, Isla was darting below the surface and rapidly swimming towards the sinking figure. She practically headbutted Luffy’s stomach in her attempt to get him on her back. Once sure he was secure, she sprang for the surface. With a mighty flip of her tail, she managed to get her and Luffy back on the ship. Luffy tumbled off her back, coughing up water. Isla changed forms, grabbing Luffy by his vest.  
“Are you okay?!” she asked frantically, “How much water did you swallow?”  
“You didn’t stutter,” Luffy coughed out.  
Suddenly the crew was around them. Nami was yelling at Luffy, Usopp frantically asked questions, Vivi was almost crying, even Sanji let out a sigh of relief. Isla’s eyes met Zoro’s in all the commotion and he just smirked at her.  
OH. Oh.  
Isla was an idiot. Of course his crew would have saved him if needed. Isla huffed in defeat. In the end her own emotions had betrayed her.  
“I…I’m joining your crew,” Isla announced, “So please don’t throw youself in the ocean anymore.”  
Luffy grinned at her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey look I updated! I hate it when it takes someone forever and a day to join the crew so I just got it over with. It doesn't mean Isla's backstory is over, in fact it's only just beginning.  
> Has anyone noticed that Isla doesn't stutter as a seal? Mmmm adding to the mystery.


	3. There Once Was a Selkie Pirate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now an official Straw Hat, Isla has a lot to learn. But first things first, it's time to party!

Somehow, despite the near drowning of their captain, the crew decided that Isla joining was a cause for celebration. Several hours later and they were sitting around the deck with mugs of some sort of alcohol. Luffy and Usopp were doing some strange dance that Vivi was politely watching while Sanji darted back and forth between the kitchen and the party. Nami, Zoro, and Isla were reclined on various seats watching the fun.  
“Honestly, you’re probably the easiest to convince to join,” Nami told her, “You should have seen the stuff Luffy went through to get me to join.”  
“You caved right away,” Zoro chuckled at Isla.  
“Didn’t you cave right away too?” Nami teased.  
“Hey! I made him promise to let me be the strongest swordsman and then we fought a bunch of Marines!”  
Isla swore she heard Zoro mumble “like men” into his mug, but didn’t say anything.  
“I…is it really okay for me to join? I am looking for my pod,” Isla pointed out.  
“If Luffy wants you to join, nothing can stop him,” Zoro burped, “Sides it’s not like you’re the only one with alternate goals. Vivian’s some sort of princess we’re escorting home.”  
Isla practically fell off her seat in shock.  
“Wh…what?” she stuttered.  
“Zoro,” Nami hissed, “That’s supposed to be a secret.”  
“What?” Zoro shrugged, “She’s one of us now anyway.”  
Nami sighed but didn’t protest.   
“P…pr...princess!” Isla sputtered, still in shock.  
“I’ll explain in the morning,” Nami waved off Isla’s surprise.  
“Yes, listen to the witch and enjoy your party,” Zoro told her.  
Isla took a large gulp of her drink, which Zoro nodded at approvingly. She felt herself flush.  
“Can I get anything for you, my sweet?” Sanji appeared suddenly.  
“Gah!” Isla jumped, falling off her chair.  
Sanji caught her, scooping her up in arms.  
“Falling for me already?” he cooed.  
He was way too close. Isla shifted uncomfortably as far away as she could while still in his grasp.  
“N....N….N,” Isla stuttered, her mouth unable to form the words.  
“Sanji, put the poor girl down,” Nami commanded airily.  
“Yeah,” Zoro smirked, “Looks like the love chef makes her uncomfortable.”  
“Take that back!” Sanji snapped at Zoro before looking at Isla, “That’s not true, is it my sweet?”  
Isla, who was feeling very awkward, couldn’t manage to form any words. Sanji looked so upset at the very idea, but also Isla would love some personal space. Plus, she wasn’t used to this sort of attention. So Isla did what she did best, she transformed into a seal and slipped out of Sanji’s arms before he realized what happened. Still in seal form, she quickly waddled away towards Luffy.  
Isla could hear Zoro laughing uproariously.  
Despite the initial awkwardness, Isla had a good time. Luffy found it wildly entertaining that she could pop back and forth between forms no problem and he insisted on bouncing a ball off her seal nose for some reason. Nami absolutely kicked everyone’s butts in a game of poker (Isla was only thankful they weren’t betting real money despite Nami’s insistence that they should have). Usopp entertained everyone with some grand story, and if you ignored that he was the main character, it was actually quite good. Vivi fussed over everyone as the night went on and they got drunker. Isla had stopped drinking earlier in the night, as her seal form couldn’t hold its alcohol, so she helped Vivi drag everyone to their rooms. Well everyone except Nami (who didn’t even seem tipsy despite all she drank) who sauntered to their room on her own.  
“It’s a good thing you’re so strong,” Vivi complimented Isla as she carried Zoro over her shoulders.  
“I…I think it’s a selkie thing,” Isla explained, “My strength increased exponentially after my first transformation.”  
Isla dumped Zoro onto an empty cot in the boy’s room and Vivi lowered an awake but very out-of-it Sanji onto a pile of pillows.  
“Good night my pretties!” Sanji sing-songed before abruptly falling asleep.  
Vivi and Isla laughed as they left the room.  
“You know it’s nice having someone else new on board,” Vivi said as she and Isla got ready for bed.  
“I…I feel the same,” Isla admitted shyly.  
The girls’ room didn’t have enough beds so Isla was using a hammock for the evening. She didn’t mind. She lost count of how many times she slept on weird surfaces as a seal. This was so much comfier. Isla happily unwrapped her pelt from her around her neck and draped it over her as she snuggled into the hammock.  
“The…the crew’s a little weird,” Isla yawned, “But I like them.”  
“Me too,” Vivi admitted, “Good night, Isla.”  
Isla murmured a reply, already half-asleep.

Isla was awoken the next morning by a loud bang. She startled awake, accidentally turning into a seal, and causing her hammock to break.  
“Ugh,” Isla moaned from the floor.  
She turned back into a human in order to rub her sore back. Isla took a moment to survey the room. The room was empty of anyone else and the sun was pretty high in the sky through the window. She must have been more tired than she realized to sleep so long. Then again, it had also been months since she could sleep so soundly. Before this she had slept fitfully, worried about being happened upon by some sort of sea monster while asleep. Isla tied her pelt around her shoulders, arranging it like a scarf, before heading up to the deck to see what was going on.  
Once Isla emerged on the deck, the source of the noise became obvious. Sanji was soundly beating Luffy into the deck with his legs. Isla guessed that kicking people was kind of his thing. Luffy was whining loudly and Sanji seemed pretty pissed. The rest of the crew ignored the blatant disrespect of their captain. Apparently this was normal to them. Isla scurried over to Vivi, the only person nervously watching the scuffle.  
“Wh…what’s going on?” Isla asked, curious.  
It didn’t seem like a spar considering Sanji was the only one fighting.  
“Oh, good morning,” Vivi greeted, “Mr. Captain ate the food Mr. Chef was saving for you. He says he’s teaching Mr. Captain a lesson.”  
Isla’s eyes widened. Her heartrate skyrocketing with anxiety.  
“Nami says,” Vivi started but Isla was gone.  
She had darted forward to interfere. With one hand Isla pulled Luffy out of the way and with the other she managed to halt Sanji’s leg mid-kick. Both men seemed surprised to see her.  
“Lala?” Luffy started in a confused tone.  
Isla nodded in response, too nervous to say anything.  
“Woah!” Luffy’s confusion turned to excitement, “You’re super strong, Lala!”  
Isla, not knowing how to respond, turned her head to look at Sanji.  
“P…pl…please,” Isla begged, “It…it’s my fault for waking up late. Please, don’t punish Luffy.”  
Isla swallowed a lump in her throat. Her stuttering was always worse when she was upset. Still, despite her nerves, Isla stood strong. Not once did her stance waver, nor did she release Sanji’s leg.  
“But, my sweet,” Sanji interrupted, “I made that food specifically for you. This cretin didn’t deserve to eat a creation of my love! He knew not to eat it.”  
“I…it’s my fault,” Isla repeated, “I…I…I can just go fishing instead. I…I should have woken up earlier. P…please.”  
“Lala,” Luffy spoke up.  
Isla turned to look at him, blinking away tears.  
“I’m fine,” Luffy grinned before pulling a stretchy cheek, “See? I’m a rubber man! Kicks don’t hurt me!”  
“He’s right,” Nami walked in, “That idiot is impervious to physical harm. Besides if we’re lucky Sanji will kick some sense into him.”  
Isla looked back at Luffy. He did seem unharmed and she had witnessed similar roughhousing from the crew yesterday.   
“I…I still don’t feel comfortable,” Isla explained, “It’s my fault.”  
“My sweet,” Sanji agilely bent over to clasp the hand around his leg, “I would never do anything to make you uncomfortable. I’ll stop.”  
Isla felt herself flush, partially out of embarrassment. It seemed she really had made a big deal out of nothing. Still, the idea of someone being punished for her truancies made her uncomfortable. Sanji had agreed to stop though.  
“O…okay,” Isla agreed and let go of Sanji.  
The tense atmosphere shattered as Luffy literally bounced up.  
“I…I’m sorry,” Isla apologized, “It wasn’t my place to interfere.”  
“My sweet,” Sanji told her, “You don’t have to apologize for something that made you uncomfortable.”  
Isla nodded, her throat too full of emotion to make a verbal response.  
“’Sides!” Luffy beamed, “Now I know you’re super cool too! How strong are you?”  
“I…I…don’t know,” Isla shrugged nervously, “I never tested it out.”   
“How’d you get so strong?” Luffy questioned relentlessly, “Was it from beating up other people? Oh was it from fighting sea monsters?! Can you lift this whole ship?”  
“S…selkie thing,” Isla shied away from Luffy’s excitement, “And…uhmm…maybe?”  
“Coooooooooool,” Luffy awed.   
“She’s very strong, Mr. Captain,” Vivi joined in, “She helped me carry everyone to their room’s last night.”  
“Was wondering how I got there,” Zoro muttered from his resting place.  
“Hey!” Nami turned on Zoro, “If you’re awake, you should be helping around the ship! Go help Usopp!”  
“Whatever, Sea Witch,” Zoro scoffed.  
Flames seemed to appear Nami’s enraged form.  
“What did you call me?!” Nami snarled at the same time Sanji leapt to her defense.  
“NAMI IS A BEAUTIFUL ANGEL!”  
“Pssh,” Zoro snorted, “Whatever. Going to go find Usopp.”  
Zoro swiftly rose to his feet and exited the deck.  
“And you!” Nami turned on Luffy.  
“Me?!” Luffy pointed to himself in shock.  
“You never finished the laundry!” Nami ordered, “Go now!”  
“Ahhh!” Luffy screamed, “Its scary Nami!”  
Luffy ran off.  
“Wrong way!” Nami yelled after him.  
“Ahhh!” Luffy screamed as he stopped, turned around, and ran past them again.  
“Idiot,” Nami muttered before grabbing Vivi’s hand, “Help me steer or we’ll never get to Little Garden.”  
“What? Oh, okay,” Vivi acquiesced quickly.  
Than it was just Sanji and Isla standing on the deck. Isla felt very awkward, unsure of what to do, and began looking for an exit.  
“I…I’m just,” Isla attempted to leave, but Sanji grabbed both her hands and knelt down in front of her.  
Now Isla felt extremely awkward and extremely embarrassed.  
“W...what?” Isla stuttered in confusion as Sanji looked up at her pitifully.  
“My goddess of the sea!” Sanji began, “Please forgive me! I did not meant to upset you so! Let me make it up to you!”  
“N…no,” Isla tried to wave him off, “My fault. I misunderstood. So…so.”  
“How could I ever live with myself knowing I brought tears to your eyes?” Sanji declared passionately.  
Oh god. He had seen that? She really was going to die of embarrassment. Isla didn’t know if that was possible but she was about to find out. Sanji was just too intense! And he was so loud! And he was holding her hands! It was just too overwhelming.  
“I…its okay!” Isla blurted out, “I forgive you!”  
“Do you really?” Sanji asked in a warbling tone.  
That was just unfair! A man shouldn’t be so handsome and look so cute at the same time! With Sanji’s pouting lips and big eyes, how was she supposed to say no? And he was begging for her forgiveness on his knees with tears in his eyes! She was a goner.  
“Y…yeah,” Isla admitted truthfully.  
“My sweet! Thank you!” Sanji surged to his feet and embraced Isla before she could react, “Your kindness knows no bounds!”  
This was a million times worse! Isla was being crushed into Sanji’s chest, the top of her head barely reaching his chin. Her face was being smothered in his jacket! Her overly sensitive nose twitched, picking up the muted scents of cigarette smoke and spices. It should have been repulsive. But it wasn’t! It was amazing. Isla felt dizzy. Or wait? Was Sanji spinning them? God, she needed space! This was too much! Too much!  
Isla managed to pull her head back.  
“Oh…uhmm,” Isla tried to think of an excuse to have Sanji release her, “May I have a drink?”  
“Of course, my sweet!” Sanji said, “Wait right here, I shall be back in a moment.”  
Sanji released her and practically skipped to the kitchen. Isla collapsed into a nearby chair the moment he was out of sight.  
This crew was too much sometimes.  
But, as Isla laid there trying to calm her nerves, she noticed she was smiling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mostly a filler chapter in terms of One Piece plot, but alot more in depth about Isla's character. Also more Sanji time! Who doesn't love Sanji? Besides Zoro? XD


	4. The Adventure Awakens

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The crew officially reaches Little Garden! Unknown to them Baroque works is also there. Will the crew make it out alive? Will Isla finally get to fight somebody? Tune in and find out!

“Stay on board!” Usopp begged, grabbing Isla’s pant leg.  
Well really they were Luffy’s pants as Isla only owned the one pair of clothes (much to Nami’s horror), but still. On Isla, Luffy’s shorts were practically capris, but at least they fit her in the waist unlike Nami’s. That girl had crazy curvy hips.   
“B…but the island,” Isla pointed towards Little Garden.  
Everyone else had already left the ship. Zoro and Sanji were hunting while Vivi and Luffy went exploring. Isla wanted to go too, but she found it hard to say no to Usopp’s begging.  
“But there are predators!” Usopp cried out, now clutching at the edge of her shirt (that was actually Nami’s).  
“W…well, I’m a predator too,” Isla added, “Technically.”  
“You’re just a seal! There are dinosaurs out there!”  
“Hey!” Isla cried out at the insinuation that she couldn’t protect herself.  
Seals may be cute, but they were also deadly. Mostly to small aquatic animals, but still! Plus, Isla was pretty sure she could at least punch those dinosaurs into submission. Maybe she could even benchpress them!  
“You’ll just be a snack to them!” Usopp cried.  
“I…I’m going!” Isla declared huffily.  
She was annoyed that Usopp thought her so weak. Isla gently removed his fingers from her person and began to walk down the gangplank.  
“D…don’t leave me!” Usopp sniveled.   
Isla halted midstep. Those words practically gutted her. She reminded herself that Usopp was just being dramatic and that he would be fine on the ship. Still, she really hated upsetting people and Usopp sounded very upset. But, this was her first island on the Grand Line! And she really wanted to see it!  
“Nami is still onboard!” Isla shouted before diving off the gangplank.  
Isla transformed and swam away as fast as her flippers would allow. She definitely would have given in if she stayed any longer.  
Once Isla was out of sight of the ship, she happily waddled onto the shore of Little Garden. Her first island! The beginning of her adventure! She had spent most of her solo trip afraid and hiding, but now she had a crew of people as backup and she could afford to actually explore the world! It was so exciting!  
“My first real adventure!” Isla cheered, throwing her flippers in the air in celebration.  
A t-rex burst through the treeline and onto the shore. It paused for a moment as it spotted Isla. Isla froze in response. The t-rex scanned her, as if trying to determine if she was edible. Isla let loose a nervous chuckle, trying not to look tasty. Suddenly the t-rex let loose a mighty roar and started charging towards her.   
“Ahhhh!” Isla screamed as she flopped back towards the sea as fast as she could.  
Once safely in the water, Isla dove out of sight. The t-rex stumbled to a stop, seemingly confused about where its prey had gone. It looked around for a few moments before giving up and lumbering off.  
“Gahh,” Isla wailed to herself, “That was scary!”  
She spent the next few minutes attempting to calm herself and blaming Usopp for getting her all worked up. This wasn’t the first time something had tried to eat Isla in her seal form, but it was just as scary every time. When her heartrate finally returned to normal, Isla cautiously approached the shore again. This time as a human, as human legs were much better for running away. Flippers were kind of useless on land.  
“I…it’s okay,” Isla said out loud as she ventured into the jungle, “You are strong, you can do this.”  
She repeated this phrase to herself (as she often did) as she trekked forward. After a couple of scares from a monkey, some ancient bunny creature, and several birds; Isla finally relaxed. Dinosaurs eventually became the last thing on her mind as she explored Little Garden. The island was so beautiful! There were animals she had never seen before and bizarre plants growing everywhere! Animal instinct made her steer clear of certain plants, but Isla happily munched on some odd fruit as she eyed the volcano in the distance. The volcano let loose a loud rumbling sound before releasing a puff of smoke into the sky.  
“O…oh,” Isla grabbed her suddenly aching head, “Ow.”  
A series of memories was trying to jam its way into Isla’s brain and the abruptness of it made Isla dizzy. She dropped her fruit, stumbling over to lean against a nearby tree as her vision swam. Isla hated these instances. The memories tended to unbalance her at best and render her unconscious at worse. Although they had been happening less frequently lately as she adjusted to being a selkie. Isla guessed it had been naïve of her to assume they stopped altogether.  
Her mother had warned her that selkies shared a stream of consciousness. Each pod collected and shared its most important memories to pass onto the next generation. It was both a way of passing on traditions and a way to teach young pups survival skills. An individual selkie had to be within a certain range of the pod to receive the most up-to-date memories, so Isla’s memories only went until her mother was separated from her pod. Plus, the whole explanation on the passing of memories had been rushed due to circumstances so there was the chance that Isla was missing vital bits. But there was nothing she could do about it now.  
Experience had taught Isla the best way to deal with the memories was to just let them wash over her, so she did. They played across her closed eyelids. There were memories of underwater and land volcanoes; of islands forming and islands dying; of the beauty and terror that was the molten lava bursting forth. The sun had moved in the sky when Isla finally came back to herself.  
“O…oh damn it,” she cursed, righting herself.  
She hadn’t meant to take so long. The memories had disoriented her so Isla popped into her seal form. Her animal instincts were always stronger in this form. Just like she could distantly sense her own pod, Isla could always sense the ocean. Figuring once she was out at sea, she could just swim around the island until she found the Going Merry, Isla headed off.   
Somewhat frantically waddling (to make up for lost time) and internally panicking that the crew had left without her, Isla nearly missed the sounds of fighting.  
“Huh,” she cocked her head in the direction of the strange noises.  
A seal’s hearing was better than the average humans, but it was less effective on land. Sill, Isla could vaguely make out the sounds of explosions in the distance. It didn’t sound too far from where she was, but she was already running late. But what if the noises were from one of crew members? What if they were in trouble? Isla was struck with indecision. She hated the idea of being late, but she also hated the idea of leaving someone in trouble. Isla wavered for a few moments before deciding to follow the noise. It was what Luffy would do, she rationalized.  
So this was how Isla found herself trampling into a clearing and witnessing a truly bizarre sight. Nami, Vivi, and Zoro were attached to some sort of half-cake, half-tower looking structure and slowly being encased in some sort of hardening powder. Usopp had been beaten black and blue and was lying on the ground in front of a man picking his nose and some lady with an umbrella. Luffy was sitting on a picnic blanket with a little girl and some other man was standing in front of a weird suit of armor. Wait was his head a candle?  
“Isla!” Usopp seemed to cry in relief.  
“Isla! Help us!” Nami called out.  
“Pathetic,” the umbrella lady laughed, “First asking for help from a duck and now a walrus! You are truly desperate.”  
“I’m a seal,” Isla automatically corrected.   
Being mistaken for the wrong species was a pet peeve of hers, even if seals and walruses were distantly related anyway.  
“Did…did that seal just talk?” the woman stuttered in shock.  
“A Devil Fruit user?” the nose-picking man asked.  
“It doesn’t matter!” the candleman howled, “Just destroy it!”  
The little girl splashed Luffy with some paint from her palette. Luffy leapt to his feet and began charging Isla, his eyes oddly blank. Isla’s eyes practically bugged out of her head.  
“Luffy?” she cried out, confused.  
Why was the man who threatened his own safety for her yesterday, trying to harm her today?”  
“Isla, watch out!”  
“Mr. Captain is being controlled by the paint!” Vivi screamed.  
A pop in air pressure and Isla managed to become human just in the nick of time. Luffy crashed into her human form.  
“Ooof!” Isla grunted, the amount of force catching her off guard.  
Luffy pushed her back several feet before Isla managed to dig her heels into the ground and halt him. Up close, Isla could smell the paint all over Luffy. Although there were was something off about the paint smell.  
“L…Luffy stop!” Isla ordered him, pushing back against his brute force.  
Luffy only snorted like a bull and continued to try to charge forward.  
“He can’t hear you,” the little girl giggled, “He only listens to me now!”  
Isla’s eyes widened as Luffy redoubled his efforts to push her. The others were slowly being encased and poor Usopp was on the run from booger bombs? She really hated to do this, but Luffy was in the way at the moment and the others needed her. Luffy would be really upset if something happened to his crew because of him. Isla frowned. She couldn’t let that happen. Besides hadn’t Luffy told her, he was impervious to physical harm?  
Isla twisted her feet, getting a firmer stance, and grabbed Luffy around the waist,  
“S..sorry!” Isla apologized as she lifted Luffy above her head and began to spin.   
Luffy made a startled noise as Isla spun faster and faster.  
“Hurricane Toss!” Isla yelled, before suddenly releasing Luffy.  
Luffy shot off like a rubber band and smashed into the weird tower structure. His rubber body than causing him to bounce down the structure and land at the base. The tower groaned and cracked and then toppled over. The middle layer was entirely gone and the top layer with the candles was now mere feet from her the crews’ heads.   
“O…oh shit!” Isla gasped as she ran over to the tower.  
The weird powder was falling faster now and her crewmembers screamed as they were encased more rapidly.  
“S..sorry!” Isla apologized as she leapt up and tried to pull the hardening material off Nami.  
“Hurry!” Nami coughed, “Up!”  
The powder was encasing Isla’s feet too and she was hopping from foot to foot to keep it from settling on her skin. At least Luffy was out cold and couldn’t interfere. How could this possibly get any worse?  
Isla’s nose alerted her and she barely managed to dodge a glob of paint in time.  
“Lucky dodge,” the little girl sneered, “But you can’t do that forever.”  
“Isla!” Nami screamed in frustration as Isla was forced to abandon her and hide behind Zoro.  
It wasn’t like she meant to leave but Zoro’s body and pose provided more cover from the paint globs. Speaking of which, Isla caught Zoro’s eye and gestured to his pose.  
“If I’m going to be stuck like this forever,” Zoro explained, “I want to look cool.”  
He then turned his chin upwards as the powder began to harden around his neck. Isla was once again forcibly reminded of just how weird the Straw Hat Crew was.  
“Uh…o…okay,” Isla managed to stammer, completely mystified at his reasoning.  
More paint globs forced Isla to leave that line of questioning alone.  
“Hurry up, Miss Goldenweek!” the candleman commanded.  
“I’m trying, Mister Three,” the girl grunted, as she threw even more paints.  
Another perk of being a selkie was that, even in human form, Isla was pretty flexible. She bent in half to avoid the latest paint glob and twisted her way out of the hardening powder around her feet. Each time she dodged, Isla was getting further away from the others. She couldn’t dodge paint and free them at the same time and they were quickly running out of time.   
“Usopp!” Vivi cried out, her entire body minus her head were now encased.  
Isla glanced over to see Usopp was even more beat up than before. Despite his bruised form, he managed to throw something to Vivi’s duck.  
“Go Carou!” he shouted at it.  
The duck ran forward, dangling a piece of rope from its beak. Isla’s nose twitched and she barely managed to pop into seal form in time to avoid another paint ball.  
“Stay still!” the girl shouted.  
Popping back, Isla decided enough was enough. She felt bad about fighting a little girl but she couldn’t stay on the defensive. This obviously wasn’t working and the crew needed her now! Isla ripped a large piece of the structure off with her bare hands.  
“Hurricane Debris!” Isla yelled before quickly spinning and releasing the piece towards the little girl.  
She didn’t get to see the result of her throw as, at that moment, her view was obstructed by fire. The entire structure had suddenly been engulfed in flames! Animal instinct demanded Isla panic and get as far away as possible.  
“Ah! No!” Isla corrected herself before she could jump away, “T…the crew!”  
Smothering the panic as best she could, Isla moved through gaps in the flames towards Nami, Vivi, and Zoro. She was forced to hold her breath to prevent smoke from entering her lungs. Theoretically, she could go 20 minutes without air, but that was under the sea, not in a fire! Isla could hear the others as she stumbled through the smoke.  
“It’s! It’s,” coughed Vivi, “It’s melting!”  
Isla jumped over a small batch of flames, landing next to them, and began pulling the melting lumps off Vivi and Nami. Zoro was hacking away with his one freed sword. The moment Nami was free, she leapt through the flames to safety. Vivi jumped next. Isla turned to Zoro, who was almost free of the melted substance. It was only then that she noticed his heavily bleeding ankles. The smoke was getting thicker and the flames hotter. They didn’t have much time! Isla surged forward, scooping up a protesting Zoro, and made a blind leap out of the flames.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No Sanji in this chapter. I find it hilarous that he just misses this entire thing. XD I mean he was doing something important, but still. Poor Sanji, no screen time for you.


	5. Onwards and Upwards

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The StrawHat crew is always chaos, even between adventure arcs. But who knew selkies could fly?

"What were you thinking?" Nami berated as she slapped Zoro upside the head.  
"Quit it demon witch!" Zoro yelled back.  
"What did you call me?" Nami snarled.  
"Please Ms. Navigator," Vivi interrupted, "I'm trying to wrap his injuries!"  
The StrawHat Crew, minus Sanji, were splayed across the deck of the Going Merry after their battle. Once set free from the tower, the battle was won pretty easily. Although this probably also had something to do with Luffy waking up thanks to (what Nami had dubbed) "Isla's Cognitive Recalibration". There was also something about a giant who was supposed to be dead but wasn't actually dead which inspired the grieving giant (who was actually lying next to the tower and not some weird mountain like Isla had thought) to fight. Between Luffy, Isla, and the giants, the tides had turned and victory was their's pretty quickly.  
Luffy and Usopp had tried to fill Isla on what she missed, but their stories didn't make alot of sense. Something about dinosaurs and epic battles and Usopp being a brave warrior. Zoro was no help, because apparently he didn't pay attention to the backstory. Vivi and Nami were too busy patching everyone up to tell her. So Isla was left to try to fill in the blanks herself. Curiously the giants hadn't set off a new set of memories like Isla had thought they would. Perhaps giants and selkies never crossed paths? Or maybe it just wasn't important enough to pass it on? The giants weren't much help either as apparently they had been on Little Garden for 100 years and in that time few people came to the island.  
"Sorry tiny selkie," one apologized, "I haven't seen others like you before."  
"It's too dangerous to swim close to the island anyway," the other giant interrupted.  
Isla wished someone had told her that before she had gone swimming. Oh well the ocean around the island couldn't be more dangerous than the island itself, right?  
"O...okay thank you," Isla thanked them anyway.  
They were very polite for a couple of friends that had been having a fight to the death every day for decades. Apparently fighting did make for good friendships.   
"Excuse me," Nami caught the giants' attention, "Do you know how long it takes the log pose to set?"  
"A year," the giant replied.  
"A year?!" The Strawhat crew gasped in unison.  
"We don't have that kind of time!" Vivi fretted.  
"We can't stay here for a full year!" Nami panicked.  
"What are we going to do?" Vivi asked Nami frantically.  
"I don't know!" Nami turned towards Luffy suddenly angry, "You just had to destroy the eternal log pose didn't you?!"  
"Oops," Luffy chuckled apologetically.  
"Ooops?!" Nami screeched, "All you have to say is oops!"  
"Ah! Miss Navigator please stop strangling Mr. Captain!"  
"T...this seems to happen a lot," Isla pointed out to Zoro and Usopp.  
"Eh," Zoro shrugged, testing the bandages on his ankle, "He'll live."  
"Besides Nami is too scary to interfere," Usopp said, shaking in his boots.  
Zoro gave a slight nod of agreement. The giants thought the whole scene was hilarious. Luffy was turning blue when Nami was interrupted by Sanji appearing from the jungle.  
"Hello my lovely ladies!" Sanji called out enthusiastically.  
He skipped towards them cheerily, hearts in his eyes. His enthusiasm wasn't even slowed down by the giant dinosaur carcass he was dragging or the giants he had to skip around to greet the crew.  
"Mr. Cook," Vivi greeted, sounding relieved at the appearance of another debatably sane person.  
"Hello Sanji," Nami sighed, dropping the rather blue Luffy to the ground.  
Luffy took in some frantic breathes before crawling behind Isla and Usopp for safety.  
"Why such sad expressions on such beautiful faces?" Sanji asked.  
"It's all Luffy's fault!" Nami snapped.  
Luffy eeped and held up Usopp as a shield. Usopp then grabbed Isla as his shield. Isla, now uncomfortably stuck in the middle, attempted to shrink into herself to avoid Nami's glare.  
"What Miss Navigator means is that the Log Pose will take a whole year to set and without an eternal Log Pose, we'll never reach my kingdom in time," Vivi explained.  
"Well it's a good thing I have an eternal Log Pose then," Sanji grinned as he pulled out the device from his pocket.  
There was a moment of shocked silence  
"Where did you get this?!" Nami questioned as she tugged the device out of Sanji's hands.  
"Thank you Mr. Cook!" Vivi hugged Sanji in gratitude.  
Sanji practically melted into the hug.  
"Anything for you princess!" He replied dazedly.  
"D..does this mean we'll be able to leave the island?" Isla clarified.  
"What about the number guys?" Usopp asked.  
"Pssh, we'll just kick all their asses," Zoro scoffed.  
"Actually," Sanji pulled himself together, "I found this in a cabin in the jungle. There was a snail call from Mister Zero for Mister Three while there. I pretended to be him and told him we were all dead so that should buy us some time."  
"This is great news!" Vivi clapped her hands excitedly.  
"Let's go then!" Luffy cheered, "To Vivi's kingdom!"  
"Bwahaha," one of the giants laughed, "I like your enthusiasm. Just for that we'll help you leave the island, right?"  
The other giant nodded in agreement.  
"When you're ready to set sail, let us know," the giant instructed, "And then just keep going straight."  
Luffy nodded.  
"You heard him," Nami turned towards the crew, "Let's get going there's no time to waste. Start loading the ship!"  
There was a flurry of activity as the crew gathered up their stuff and began preparing. Nami quickly put Isla to work doing some of the heavy work. At least her freakishly large strength was being put to use.  
"Oi! Isla decide something for us," Zoro called to her.  
Isla put down the barrel she was carrying and leaned over the rail. Zoro and Sanji stood on the beach, each with a rather large dinosaur carcass behind them.  
"Y...y...yes?" Isla answered.  
"That is no way to talk to a beautiful mistress of the sea," Sanji berated Zoro.  
Zoro rolled his eyes.  
"My sweet," Sanji cooed (Isla flushed in embarrassment), "Can you settle our bet and tell us which one has the bigger catch?"  
"Yeah tell this Eyebrow-Freak my dinosaur is bigger."  
"My sweet please tell this Moss-For-Brains that my dinosaur is bigger."  
Oh boy. Isla really really hated being in the middle of stuff like this. Maybe if she just tried her best to be objective, it would work out? She studied the dinosaurs for a moment.   
"Uh....oh," Isla fretted as she glanced between the two.  
"Just tell us my sweet."   
"Yeah Curly Brows will get over his loss."  
"Uhmm...I..." Isla's stuttered, "Th...they look to be the same."  
Commence awkward three way stare.  
"Mine is bigger!"  
"Are you blind? Mine is clearly bigger!"  
"I...I'm sorry!" Isla wailed as Sanji and Zoro broke out into a scuffle.  
"Just ignore them," Nami sighed as she led a distraught Isla away.  
Eventually (after Nami stopped the dinosaur debate), the ship was loaded and ready to go.  
"Now remember just keep going straight."  
The other giant nodded in agreement.  
"Thank you for all your help," Vivi thanked them profusely as the crew waved goodbye.  
"W...why do you think we have to keep sailing straight?" Isla asked Zoro.  
He shrugged in response.  
"Guess we'll find out."  
Isla supposed he was right, but she couldn't help the nagging feeling in her brain that something was amiss.  
"Straight ahead!" Luffy declared proudly.  
There was a moment of peace aboard the Going Merry before what looked like the world's largest goldfish jumped out of the sea.  
"Ahhhh!" a portion of the crew screamed in terror.  
Luffy only grinned wildly as the fish opened up it's jaw and headed straight towards them! Isla's heart pounded wildly as she lurched towards the wheel. This was not how she wanted to die! She was a predator! Not prey! She was supposed to do the eating! Not be eaten!  
"Nami!!" Usopp wailed, "Nami turn the ship!"  
"No." Luffy's voice cut through the chaos, "Keep going."  
"Are you crazy?!" Nami screeched, "That thing wants to eat us!"  
"Straight," was all Luffy said.  
"Zoro!" Nami turned to the first mate in desperation.  
"You heard the captain," Zoro smirked, "Keep going!"  
"H...he's right," Usopp stuttered, "The giants said keep going."  
"You are all crazy!" Nami shouted but she didn't turn the ship.  
Isla tensed up as the giant fish closed in on them. Every instinct said to do something, but she held back. She had to trust Luffy. He was her Captain now.   
Suddenly there was a sharp gust of wind and the fish was sliced in two! The same gust of wind lifted their boat out of the sea, sending them sailing through the air.  
"Wooo!" Luffy cheered wildly.  
The rest of the crew looked relived but not as enthusiastic as they held tightly to the ship's deck.  
"Good luck little humans!" The giants called after them.  
Their flight quickly came to an end with an abrupt crash into the ocean. As glad as Isla was to be on the ground again, she could have done without the sudden drop. Her stomach churned unpleasantly.  
"We made it," Vivi sighed in relief.  
"Never again," Nami stated, "I am never doing that again."  
"That was fun!"  
The boat rocked as it settled in the waves. Isla quickly ran over to the railing as her stomach rebelled.  
"My mistress of the sea!" Sanji called after her, "Are you alright?"  
Isla took a few deep breathes, willing herself not to vomit.  
"I...I am not a flying animal," was all Isla managed before she lost the battle with her stomach.  
"Ah! Isla's dying!"  
"She's not dying, idiot! She just has motion sickness."  
"But she's not moving."  
"Miss Selkie, do you need anything?"  
"My poor sweet! Let my love heal you!"  
"Keep talking that way and you're going to make me sick Curly Brows!"  
Despite herself, Isla grinned. The Going Merry's chaos was becoming her new normal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Selkies can't fly XD


	6. A Plague

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Strawhats head off to Alabasta but are quickly thrown offtrack by a sick crew member.

The next morning arrived with the usual chaos of the crew. Isla could overhear the usual screaming and yelling from the kitchen as she manned the wheel. Despite offering to make her a meal that would be easy on her stomach, Isla had volunteered to steer the ship instead. Sanji insisted on bringing her out a plate, which she nibbled at. Truthfully, despite her assurances to the crew, Isla wasn't feeling that well today. It wasn't just her stomach. Her whole body ached something fierce and she felt uncomfortably warm underneath the blazing sun. The muscle aches were probably from her fight and Isla was sure she would feel a lot cooler once she got into the sea. Nami was going to take over after breakfast and Isla was looking forward to going for a swim.  
"My sweet!" Sanji greeted.  
Isla blushed. She wasn't used to someone as affectionate as Sanji.  
"H...hello," she returned shyly.  
Sanji's open praises and compliments made Isla feel funny but in a good way. She couldn't help but want more of them, even if she was embarrassed by how loud he was with them. It was a strange combination of both wanting and not wanting something, which left Isla feeling unsure how to act. Still Sanji had been nothing but nice to her and Isla tried to return the sentiment.  
"You didn't eat your breakfast," Sanji expressed concern.  
Isla turned to look at the wheel. His serious face was just too handsome!  
"M...my stomach just wasn't hungry," Isla tried to assure him, "B...but I ate a little and it was very good!"  
Isla really hated disappointing people and she didn't want Sanji to think she disliked his food.   
"Are you sure you're okay?" Sanji asked.  
Isla very intently focused on her hands, careful not to look at Sanji's face.   
"I...I'm alright. I'll feel better after a swim," Isla smiled.  
"Oh we get to see the graceful mistress of the sea at work?"  
"I...I'm not that graceful," Isla blushed.  
"Nonsense! I heard about your fighting yesterday. It was apparently a sight to behold!"  
"N...not really."  
"You are always a sight to behold, my sweet," Sanji kissed the back of one of her hands.  
Isla's face turned even redder awWs she couldn't help but gape at him. Sanji looked into her eyes with such earnest that Isla was at a loss for words. Her heart beat furiously in her chest as she took in his stunning features and sincere expression.   
"Sanji! More food!" a familiar voice interrupted.  
"Wait a damn minute!" Sanji hollered back.  
The moment broken, Sanji sighed before stepping back. He promised to bring Isla something easy to snack on and headed back towards the kitchen with her plate.  
"Oh...dear," Isla placed her head in her hands the moment Sanji was out of sight.  
She really needed to learn how to get a hold of herself. Sanji was the biggest flirt to ever live, she needed to not take him so seriously. Not that it was entirely Sanji's fault, Isla knew her own upbringing affected her part in this. She had grown up very isolated, with mostly a broken mother for company, and occasionally an emotionally-constipated father and distant brother. It hadn't always been that way. Well her mother had always been closed off, but when she was younger Isla had her brother. For the longest time it had just been the two of them, while her father worked and her mother stared longingly at the sea. Isla had adored her brother and she had been heartbroken the day her father announced that he would be joining him at sea and Isla would stay at home with her mother. Her interactions with the other villagers had been limited at best, so Isla had never spent much time with anyone outside her family. And she had certainly never spent time with anyone interested in her. Even if said person was interested in every person of her gender.  
Isla sighed again as she checked the Log Pose and changed course slightly. Sometimes things were much easier as a seal. Eventually, Nami came to free up Isla. She even complimented her! Which had Isla blushing and assuring her that having a sense of direction was no big deal.  
"You haven't been ashore with Zoro yet," Nami warned.  
Confused, but too scared to ask, Isla took her leave. She leaned over the ship's rail to feel the ocean breeze on her face and smell the saltwater. Isla loved the ocean. It made her feel serene and secure, just like her selkie form made her feel powerful and agile. She scampered onto the railing, thankful for her innate ability to balance, and prepared to dive in.  
"Huh," Isla blinked as nothing happened.   
Usually all she had to do was think and her transformation happened. She tried again. By now the other crew members were wrapping up breakfast and going about their day. Still nothing.   
Isla could feel the beginning of a panic attack coming. She took a deep breath, trying to remain calm. She had done this hundreds of times before, she could do this. Isla began to intensely focus on her transformation, trying to recall the first time she had transformed and how it felt.  
"Miss Selkie, is everything alright?" Vivi interrupted.  
Isla didn't reply, afraid of losing her concentration. She could almost feel the barrier stopping her transformation in her mind. Her physical body was sweating at the effort it took to push this much. For some reason her body was stuck in her human form. The panic began clawing at Isla's chest. This could not be happening to her! She had no idea why she was stuck and the fleeting idea of being stuck this way forever caused another wave of panic to wash over her. Desperate, Isla shoved through the mental barrier.  
There was a pop and Isla was briefly a seal before she popped back. However she felt before, Isla felt a million times worse now. Her body was so warm, it felt like it was melting. Her head swam as an intense feeling of vertigo overtook her. Isla barely managed to pitch her body towards the deck as she collapsed.  
"Isla!" Vivi yelled in concern.  
Everything was spinning too much and her head felt like it weighed a ton so Isla merely laid there as Vivi called her. There were some more footsteps and yelling but Isla was having a hard time focusing. Her eyesight was too blurry to see anyway. Isla closed her eyes. Someone was moving her but Isla couldn't bring herself to care. She was so tired. Everything hurt and she was so tired. People were prodding her but she didn't have the energy to shake them off. Sleep. She just needed to sleep. 

Sanji entered the women's room quietly. While normally he would be overjoyed to be in there, the somber mood hanging over the ship killed any happiness he felt. Besides he much rather Isla be well. He noted that Isla was still unconscious and placed the tray of food he brought on an endtable. No one said anything. Isla had given the crew quite the fright earlier when she suddenly collapsed and no one felt like they could breathe easily until she woke up.  
"It was very kind of you to give up your bed princess," Sanji noted to Vivi.  
Vivi gave him a small smile before turning back to Isla.  
"It was the least I could do," Vivi spoke quietly, "I can't help but feel like this is my fault."  
"Princess you can't blame yourself for an illness," Sanji lightly scolded her.  
Vivi carried far too much on her shoulders already, there was no need to burden herself any further.  
"Yeah, Vivi," Usopp joined in, "Illnesses can happen to anyone at anytime. You can't blame yourself."  
Sanji distantly remembered that Usopp's own mother had passed away due to an illness.  
"Actually," Sanji mused, "I don't think I've ever been sick."  
"What?" Vivi gaped, "Surely you've had to caught a cold at some point."  
"Nope," Sanji replied.  
"Me neither," Luffy piped up.  
"Neither have I," Zoro added.  
"No way!" Vivi gasped.  
"Monsters," Usopp muttered under his breath, "This crew is full of monsters."  
The room fell into silence for a moment. It didn't last long as Luffy made a high pitched whining noise before collapsing at the foot of the bed.  
"Get off!" Sanji kicked Luffy onto the floor, "My sweet is resting there!"  
"But Sanji," Luffy whined, "This is so boring."  
"Being sick usually is," Vivi laughed lightly.  
"You don't have to stay down here," Usopp pointed out.  
"No," Luffy stubbornly refused, "I should be here when she wakes up."  
No one argued that point as they were all doing the same except for Nami who was on deck navigating. There was another moment of silence as the crew stared at the sleeping figure of Isla.  
"Soooooo boring," Luffy whined again, "Why can't we just wake her up?"  
"It's better for her to wake up naturally," Vivi lectured.  
"Hey! Don't poke her!" Usopp yelled at Luffy who was now gently prodding Isla in the cheek.  
Sanji's foot and Zoro's scabbard simultaneously hit Luffy upside the head.  
"Owww! I was just trying to help!"  
"Well it's not helpful!" Zoro gruffed, "You're just being annoying."  
"I think you're annoying!" Luffy stuck his tongue out.  
"Why you!" Zoro reached for his sword.  
"You're both annoying," Sanji cut in.  
"Ya trying to start something Curly Brows?" Zoro growled.  
"Hey, Luffy," Vivi clapped her hands together, getting everyone's attention, "Why don't you get a fresh cloth for Isla's forehead?"  
"Okay!" Luffy responded eagerly.  
He jumped to his feet and headed towards the door.  
"Don't wake up while I'm gone," Luffy told Isla before running off.  
With Luffy gone, the tension in the room died down. Sanji settled for shooting Zoro some nasty looks, but he didn't want to start something physical in the resting lady's presence.  
"I do hope she wakes up soon," Vivi sighed.  
"Isn't it dangerous for her to stay asleep so long with a high fever?" Usopp asked.  
"I don't know," Vivi replied, "My medical knowledge is limited."  
"Mine as well," Sanji added.  
Usopp nodded his head in agreement.  
"We need a doctor on this crew," Zoro pointed out.  
"It's amazing you guys made it this far without one," Vivi said.  
"We've been pretty lucky so far," Sanji agreed, "But our luck was bound to run out eventually."  
There was the clatter of footsteps and Luffy burst back into the room, holding a dripping cloth in his hands. He ran over to Isla's side and hurriedly draped it across her forehead.  
"I already wetted it," Luffy explained, "So hurry up and get better Isla!"  
Sanji smirked at his captain's enthusiasm.  
"Mmmm," a sound came from Isla.  
"Holy shit it worked!" Usopp yelled.  
The crew leaned over the bed and watched as Isla began to fidget. Her eyelids fluttered open.  
"My sweet?" Sanji called to her.  
"Isla?"  
"Lala!"  
"Hmm."  
"Please give her some room," Vivi begged.  
The crew leaned back.   
"W...wha," Isla croaked, clearly confused.  
"Here my sweet, drink this!" Sanji grabbed the drink he brought down earlier and stuck the straw between her lips. Isla obediently took a few sips, gradually waking up as she did.  
"Miss Selkie," Vivi interrupted, "Do you remember what happened?"  
"Y...yes," Isla released the straw.  
Her voice sounded better but still groggy.  
"I...I fell," Isla recalled.  
"Do you know why?"  
"W...wasn't feeling well," Isla answered.  
"You didn't eat breakfast," Sanji reminded her.  
"D...didn't feel well then either," Isla continued, "I...I went to swim. But all of the sudden I felt worse."  
"How do you feel now?" Zoro cut in.  
"B...bad," Isla replied, "I...I'm really hot and everything hurts."  
"That's probably the fever," Usopp noted.   
"Do you feel any better?" Vivi questioned.  
"N...not really," Isla shivered, "Ca...can I sleep now?"  
The crew blinked at each other in surprise. Isla had been awake for all of five minutes.  
"Yeah," Vivi sent Isla a reassuring smile, "Go to sleep."  
"T...thanks."  
Isla nodded off in seconds. Vivi readjusted the cloth on Isla's head before turning to the rest of them.  
"She needs a doctor," Vivi confessed, "Her forehead feels even warmer."  
"But Vivi, what about your kingdom?" Usopp asked.  
"I'm not sure she'll make it to then," Vivi replied honestly, "My kingdom can wait a few more days."  
"But we're following the Eternal Log Pose," Sanji pointed out, "How are we going to find another island?"  
They fell silent.  
"There's gotta be a way," Luffy stated firmly, "I won't just give up."  
Luffy headed towards the door.  
"Where are you going?" Vivi asked in surprise.  
"To talk to Nami."  
The rest of the crew eyed each other before following Luffy out onto the deck.  
"Nami!" Luffy declared, "Navigate us to a doctor!"  
"Idiot!" Nami shouted, "That's not how that works!"  
"Nami! My angel! You look so beautiful right now," Sanji couldn't help but coo.  
Nami sighed, her beautiful fury leaving her all at once.  
"Besides, we have other problems," Nami reached over to a stack of papers and thrust them at Vivi. Luffy and Usopp attempted to read the paper over Vivi's shoulder. Sanji reached into his pocket and pulled out a cigarette, he had a feeling he was going to need one.  
"Oh no!" Vivi gasped, "The rebels are moving towards the capital!"  
"Huh?" Luffy cocked his head to the side in blatant confusion.  
"This means," Vivi's hands began to shake, "This means..."  
"This means our timeline is even shorter than we thought," Nami interrupted, "We have to get there as soon as possible if you want any chance at stopping them."  
"But Miss Selkie," Vivi's eyes widened in horror as she realized the choice she had to make.  
"Maybe she'll recover on her own?" Usopp offered.   
"She can't be that bad, right?" Nami looked to the crew for assurance, "She just fell ill."  
"It's bad," Zoro stated.  
"Oh."  
Sanji's heart ached in sympathy as he watched Princess Vivi struggle to choose. Would she risk Isla's safety in hopes they made it to Alabasta in time? Or does she risk her own kingdom's safety and start a civil war? It wasn't an easy decision.   
"Vivi," Luffy said seriously, "I promise you we will find a way to help your kingdom. I'll do everything I can to stop this war. But,"  
Luffy trailed off.  
"But Miss Selkie should come first, right?" Vivi gave a bittersweet smile.  
"She's my crewmate. I won't leave her behind," Luffy announced.  
Vivi hugged Luffy.  
"I know you wouldn't," Vivi smiled before turning to the crew, "That's why I believe we can accomplish both. Now let's hurry up and get Isla better!"  
"You heard her," Nami announced, "Now let's find an island! Usopp and Zoro you're on lookout. Vivi look after Isla. Sanji and Luffy I need you to pull some ropes for me."  
"Anything for you, my angel!" Sanji enthusiastically agreed.   
With a new sense of hope, the Strawhats quickly got to work

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I changed who gets sick! This leads to some slight changes (the situation isn't as dire as when the navigator got sick) but still the same general plotline.   
> Yeah we're going to meet our furry doctor friend soon!


	7. Short Stories of the Ill

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Isla spends a little time with each crewmember as the Strawhats search for a doctor. These moments range from tender to humorous to downright weird.

Isla woke up and immediately regretted it. Her throat ached something fierce and her body was now alternating between freezing cold and melting hot.  
"W..water," Isla croaked.  
Like the last few times she had awoken, someone was by her bedside. Usopp lifted the straw to her lips and Isla eagerly sucked it down. Normally she would be ashamed and embarrassed to be so needy and demanding, but illness had a way of breaking down all barriers.  
"Feelin' any better?" Usopp questioned after she had her fill.  
"N...no," Isla confessed, realizing there was no point in lying.  
"You wanna try eating something?"  
"N...not really."  
"Hmmm," Usopp sounded worried.  
Isla didn't like making others concerned especially about her.  
"W...will you tell me a story?" Isla asked shyly.  
Once upon a time, long before she knew of selkies and Devil Fruits, Isla's brother had read her nighttime stories. To this day, those were still some of her fondest memories. And Isla knew of Usopp's love of tall tales. Maybe it would at least help pass the time? Or at least distract both of them for a while?  
Usopp immediately perked up.  
"One day the brave Captain Usopp," Usopp began enthusiastically.  
"B...but you're not the Captain," Isla pointed out.  
"Hey! Whose telling the story here?"  
"S...sorry," Isla giggled at Usopp's contrite expression, "P...please continue."  
"As I was saying," Usopp continued, "One day the brave Captain Usopp was sailing..."  
Isla found herself lulled to sleep by Usopp's voice and his ridiculous but adorable story.

"Z...Zoro," Isla managed to pipe up.  
Zoro cracked open one eye as he surveyed her from the chair next to her beside. He had been a pleasant illness companion all things considered, very quiet and not prone to fussing, but that made it especially difficult to ask a favor of him.  
"Uh...I," Isla fumbled as she tried to think of the least embarrassing way to phrase her request.  
Zoro cocked an eyebrow.  
"I...oh... nevermind!" Isla squeaked out, pulling the covers up over her face.  
She heard Zoro shift in his seat and the covers were pulled off her head.  
"What is it?" He asked.  
Isla was sure Zoro didn't intend to come off as intimating but he did.  
"I...I," Isla took a deep breath to gather her courage, "Ineedhelpgettingtothebathroom."  
Zoro blinked at her. Isla blinked back, her face flush with embarrassment. Zoro's cheeks turned a light pink.  
"Yeah sure," Zoro coughed lightly, trying to cover up his own embarrassment.  
Somehow seeing the strong swordsman also be flustered, eased Isla's nerves slightly.  
Suddenly Isla was in the air. The room span wildly as her vertigo kicked in.  
"I...I didn't mean pick me up!" Isla squeaked, now an even brighter shade of red.  
"Shut up, it's faster this way."  
Isla's whole body protested as Zoro moved them towards the restroom.  
"Z...Zoro," Isla groaned, "I...I think I'm going to puke."  
"Hey! Don't you dare!" Zoro shouted.  
Isla did end up losing her lunch, but thankfully (for both parties) not on Zoro.

Isla blearily watched as Luffy made a series of funny faces at her. Her fever had spiked again and Luffy was trying to cheer her up despite how awful she felt.  
"Y...you're weird," Isla slurred slightly.  
The fever was also making her slightly delirious.  
"No, you're weird," Luffy argued.  
Isla was tempted to stick her tongue out at him but thought better of it. He was her captain after all. It was quiet for a moment and Isla almost managed to doze off.  
"Noooo," Luffy shook her shoulders, "You gotta stay awake!"  
"D...don't wanna," Isla whined.  
"You gotta!"  
"N..no."  
"Yes!"  
"N..no!"  
"Yes!"  
"No!" Isla yelled angrily.  
Luffy blinked at her.  
"You didn't stutter," he gaped.  
Isla, who was now sick and grumpy, only stared him down. She was too tired to analyze her speech patterns with him. Grumpily, she shifted in the bed, turning her back to Luffy. Maybe now he would leave her alone. Any other time she would have felt bad losing her temper, but she was too exhausted to care at the moment.  
"Ya know," Luffy began, "You don't stutter as a seal either."  
He paused and Isla found herself intrigued despite her tiredness.  
"I...I don't?" Isla never really paid attention to her normal stutter, it was so commonplace to her.  
She only really noticed her stutter when it increased, usually when she was flustered or nervous or both.  
"Mmmhmmm," Luffy hummed, "I think it has something to do with your strength."  
"M...my strength?"  
"Yea!" Luffy explained, "When you feel strong or feel strongly about something, you don't stutter."  
"Y...you mean like when I feel confident?" Isla translated.  
"Yeah! So now you just gotta feel that way all the time!"  
Isla could practically feel Luffy's blinding smile on her. He sounded so proud of his discovery. Isla pulled the covers up further on her body. He made it sound so easy.   
"E...easier said than done," Isla whispered.  
Isla jumped a little as she felt Luffy pat her on the head.  
"It's ok! I'll help!" Luffy offered, "Ya just gotta get better first!"  
Isla couldn't help the few tears that came to her eyes. No one had ever offered to help her with her confidence before. Before the Strawhats, there had only been criticism or silence. And now Luffy was offering to go out of his way for her just because he cared. She didn't know whether it was animal instinct or just something in her Captain's voice, but Isla could tell he intended to keep that promise.  
"I...I'll get better quickly," Isla sniffled.  
She would do anything she could for this crew. After all these people treated her better than her own family had. As strange as they were, the Strawhats had taken up room in her heart. Isla would do anything she could to make them happy and proud of her.  
"Shishishi," Luffy chuckled happily.

"T...thank you for lending me your pajamas," Isla blushed as Nami helped her button up the shirt.  
She had been too weak to get out of bed on her own, but a fresh pair of clothes made her feel a lot better.  
"Don't worry about it," Nami waved off Isla's thanks, "I'll just deduct the cost from your allowance."  
"I...I...I get an allowance?!" Isla asked, surprised.  
"Of course, silly. The whole crew does. Did you think you were working here for free?"  
"B...but you already feed me and give me a place to sleep?"  
"That's why it's an allowance and not a full salary. I deduct room and board."  
"Oh. W...what do I do with an allowance then?"  
"I suggest buying yourself clothes," Nami glanced at Isla, "Have you never had your own money before?"  
"N...no," Isla admitted shyly, "I...I've never brought clothes for myself either."  
Nami was silent for a moment.  
"Well don't worry I'll teach you how to shop!" Nami grinned, "I'll even give you these lessons for free because I am so generous!"  
"W...will you really? T...thank you so much!"  
"Financial freedom is important," Nami said in a much more serious tone.  
Isla cocked her head to the side in confusion. She had never really needed money as a seal but she felt this was important to Nami so she didn't dare interrupt. Isla could tell there was a story behind Nami's words but she didn't pry. After all everyone was entitled to keep some things private, Isla kept plenty of things to herself. Hopefully, one day Nami would feel comfortable enough to tell her.  
"This could be fun," Nami's grin was back in place, "It makes me feel like I'm a big sister."  
"Oh. Uhmmm. I...I think I'm older than you," Isla stuttered.  
"No way! You seem so young! How old are you?"  
"T...twenty-one?" Isla offered shyly.  
"What?! How are you the oldest person on this crew?"  
"I...I'm sorry!"

"I...I'm sorry," Isla apologized miserably.  
"It's not a problem, really," Vivi told her, gently patting her back.  
Isla dry heaved into the bucket again. Thankfully, it seemed she was out of stuff to actually throw up.  
"B...but you're a princess," Isla wailed, "A...and you're cleaning up my vomit."  
Vivi gently took away the bucket and helped Isla lie down.  
"You're my friend," Vivi smiled, "I'm happy to help in any way I can."  
"R...really?" Isla sniffled.  
"Of course. Although I am worried about you. I've never seen someone with such severe Climate Sickness."  
"I...is that," Isla coughed, "I...is that what I have?"  
"Probably," Vivi conceded, "I'm not a doctor though, but don't worry we're looking for one right now."  
Isla frowned.  
"B...but you're kingdom. W...what about that Crocodile guy?"  
"I'm worried about them too," Vivi confessed, "But my kingdom is strong. They can wait a few more days until you get better."  
Isla grabbed Vivi's hands. Vivi turned to look at her in surprise.  
"N...no. I...I...I'm not worth it. P...please go save your kingdom first, th...they need you," Isla begged.  
Vivi's eyes widened.  
"P...please," Isla continued, "I...I'll be fine."  
"You haven't kept any food down in two days!" Vivi rebutted, "You need a doctor, Miss Isla."  
"B...but my life isn't worth a whole kingdom," Isla was practically in tears at this point.  
There was no way Isla could live with herself if Vivi's kingdom fell because they spent a few days taking care of her. Vivi was a kind and gentle leader, her kingdom was lucky to have her.   
"You are to us," Vivi assured her, "Besides Luffy believes we can do both. So please believe in us when we say you are worth it and let us take care of you."  
"I...I...I," Isla was at a loss for words as a few tears streamed down her face.  
"Please depend on us," Vivi hugged Isla.  
At this point, the dam broke and Isla began bawling. Her emotions overrode her nervousness and her cautiousness. She hugged Vivi tightly. That this crew was willing to go so far and do so much for her, astounded Isla.  
"O...okay," Isla managed to hiccup through tears.  
Vivi gently patted Isla on the back until she ran out of tears. Now exhausted in multiple ways, Isla laid down to rest. Part of her was a little embarrassed at her outburst but another part of her felt warm and fuzzy and cared for, for the first time in years.   
"I...I'll get better quickly," Isla whispered to Vivi before falling asleep.

"Isla, my sweet!" Sanji sang as he spun into the room, "I brought you some food."  
"Urgh," Isla's stomach rebelled at the thought of food.  
"Good luck, Sanji," Nami told him as she stood up to leave, "She hasn't managed to keep down anything."  
Isla watched as Sanji bid a dramatic goodbye to Nami. She spotted the tray of food in his hand. It contained nothing but a simple broth and yet she recoiled at the idea of eating it.  
"I...I...I'm sorry," Isla apologized.  
"My sweet, there is no reason to apologize," Sanji placed the tray down.  
"B...but I feel bad for wasting food," Isla confessed, "I...I hate wasting food."  
"You're not wasting it," Sanji assured her, brushing a piece of her hair behind her ear, "You are sick. It's not your fault."  
Isla blushed at his touch. She had to be disgusting. It had been days since she got a proper shower and her hair was a tangled mess after sleeping on it for days. Isla had no idea how Sanji could look at her so adoringly when she must have looked and smelled like death warmed over.  
"Besides," Sanji continued, "the fact that you continue to try to eat my hard work despite not feeling well, brings joy to my heart!"  
Isla swore Sanji's eyes turned into little hearts for a moment.  
"Oh...uh," Isla struggled to find a way to get the attention off her, "Y...you really love cooking, don't you?"  
"I do," Sanji smiled at her.  
Isla's heart had a little conniption at the sight of the soft smile on Sanji's face. It should be illegal to look that handsome. Especially when he had such ridiculous eyebrows too!  
"To me the whole process is joyous," Sanji explained, "But what I love most is watching people enjoy what I have cooked."  
He did seem quite passionate about the subject. Even more so than he did about spouting lines of poetry at every women he saw.  
"T...that sounds beautiful," Isla admitted.  
"You're the beautiful one, darling!" Sanji cooed.  
Isla flushed, her eyes fixated on her hands in her lap.  
"There must be something you love to do as well," Sanji switched topics.  
"S...sw...swimming," Isla confessed, "I...I feel so free when I swim."  
"My beautiful mistress of the sea! You are truly a wonder of the world when you swim!"  
"Uhmm...b...but I like to sew too," Isla continued shyly.  
"You do?" Sanji seemed surprised.  
"Mmmhmm," Isla nodded her head, "I...I like being able to create something."  
"Ah! An artist's soul!" Sanji complimented, "To create is truly a privilege, is it not?"  
Isla nodded in agreement.  
"Mankind commits so many atrocities. It is so easy for us to destroy," Sanji said, oddly serious for a moment, "To be able to create, to add to this world, is a unique and special gift."  
Isla stared at Sanji's face. He was so captivating when he spoke with passion. It was clear cooking was dear to him.  
"Ah, sorry for rambling, my sweet," Sanji blinked.  
"D...don't be. I...I agree. To create is beautiful."  
"Oh my mistress of the sea, you clearly understand my soul!" Sanji declared passionately, "Let us add to this world by creating a beautiful love between our souls!"  
"W...what?!" Isla yelped.  
With all the blood rushing to her face and her fever, Isla began to feel slightly faint.  
"Ah! My sweet, are you swooning over my passionate declaration of love?"  
Luckily, Isla was spared from answering (and fainting) by Zoro's timely arrival. She gladly pulled the covers up over her head and attempted to rest, as the two bickered furiously in the background.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo! Crew bonding time! Showing a little bit of Isla's relationship with each Strawhat and some character development at the same time!!!   
> Cause I am clearly killing it!  
> Our little furry friend will be in the next chapter, promise!


	8. To The Mountain Top We Go!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Strawhats race to find a doctor in the snowy Drum Kingdom. Meanwhile, Isla is not fond of being eaten.

"T...touch the fur and I'll bite you," Isla threatened.  
"You're awake!" Usopp yelped in surprise before coughing, "I knew that."  
"Sure you did," Nami said from somewhere behind Isla.  
Isla was barely awake and running a pretty high fever, but she was pretty sure she wasn't on the ship. The face full of red was a big indicator.  
"W...where am I?" Isla wheezed out.  
"My sweet hold your energy! Just rest! Luffy and I shall make sure you receive treatment!" Sanji bellowed.  
"T...too loud," Isla complained, rubbing her face into the red.  
"Shishishi!"  
Oh the red was Luffy, that made sense. No wait. No it didn't. Why was Luffy under her? Oh no, he was holding her on his back. But why? Isla's head throbbed.  
"S...someone explain," Isla whined, she just wanted to go back to sleep.  
"We landed on Drum Island," Vivi spoke up from somewhere, "The only doctor is up a mountain. Mr. Captain and Mr. Chef are going to carry you up the mountain."  
Isla blinked. It seemed like something was missing in this story, but who was she to complain? Part of her wanted to protest Luffy and Sanji going out of their way for her, but even knew she was quite ill at this point. She hadn't eaten anything in days and was barely keeping down liquids. Her fever only kept climbing and she spent most of her time asleep. Why was she awake now anyway?  
Usopp reached out for her fur.  
Oh yeah that was why.  
"N...no," Isla weakly slapped his hand away.  
"Hey!" Usopp pouted, "I'm just trying to put a jacket on you! Your fur is in the way!"  
"N...no!"  
"Isla, don't be difficult," Nami lectured.  
Isla shook her head.  
"I...it's warm. N...no coat. J...just put the head on my head," Isla broke into a fit of coughing.  
"Okay, okay, just rest," Nami assured her.  
Isla rested her head against Luffy's back as she felt Usopp rearrange the fur. She rarely wore the fur correctly, as some sailor at some point had told her it was freaky, but there was the carcass of a seal head she could wear like a hood. There was a tail too but that mostly just dragged on the ground. Once Usopp finished and Isla was bundled up in her own fur, she let herself drift off.

Isla's next awakening was far from gentle. Her whole body bounced with such a force, she felt her teeth clatter.  
"Owwww," she hissed.  
"Lala?" Isla heard Luffy yell.  
"Uh-huh," Isla managed to huff.  
Was it just her or was it getting harder to breathe?  
"Shit," Sanji cursed, "Now's not a good time to be awake, my sweet."  
Isla's brow furrowed. All she could see was Luffy's back but there was a loud rumbling noise piercing her brain. Summoning what little energy she had, Isla peaked behind her.  
"Oh."  
Well she regretted that decision.   
Quickly, Isla ducked back down. She wasn't entirely sure what she missed while she was out but Isla was pretty sure "go snowboarding down the mountain while being chased by giant evil rabbit creatures and an avalanche" was not part of the plan.  
Isla clutched Luffy tighter as he used his rubber powers to escape the grasp of one giant evil rabbit thing. Her heart was pounding and her stomach twisted with anxiety but Isla couldn't do anything to help. She couldn't even keep watch. She was already nauseous and the snowboarding was only making it worse. Isla clenched her eyes shut and held tightly to her Captain. She had to trust in him and his weirdly fortunate luck right now.  
"Be gentle!" Isla heard Sanji yell as Luffy performed another stunt.  
"I'm trying!" Luffy retorted.  
Isla would have assured him but she was afraid of vomiting if she opened her mouth. All she could do was weakly pat him to signal she was okay.  
More yelling. More growling. The rumbling getting louder.   
"A rock?!" Luffy screeched.  
"Shit! We're going to hit it," Sanji announced, "But Isla can't take that kind of hit!"  
Suddenly Isla was aware of the sensation of flying.  
"A man should always be gentle," was all Sanji said before Isla heard a crashing sound.  
"Sanji!" Luffy screamed as the he and Isla soared through the air.  
"I...I'm not a flying mammal," Isla groaned.  
There was a sudden force slamming into Isla. It was like being caught off guard by a giant wave except worse because it was heavier. Isla couldn't even scream as she and Luffy were dragged down and under the snow. They were tossed and turned, but to Luffy's credit, he never let go of Isla. Finally, everything came to a stop and the world was eerily silent.  
Isla blinked, trying to clear the vertigo from her head. If she felt sore before, it was nothing to how she felt now. And while her fur had kept her warm above snow, underneath the snow, it managed to sneak into every crack and crevice causing her to shiver.  
"L...Luffy?" Isla whispered.  
She had a pocket of air around her head and she didn't want to waste it. While Isla couldn't see Luffy, she could still feel his hand in hers.  
There was no response.  
"L...Luffy?" Isla tried again.  
Still nothing. Isla couldn't feel him moving either. The avalanche must have knocked him out. She couldn't hear or see Sanji either. All she could make out was the white snow that was slowly crushing her and her friends to death.  
Fuck.  
Isla was on her own. Hot tears welled up in her eyes and Isla forcefully gulped down the panic. This was no time for that. Despite how weak and awful she felt, her crewmates needed her.   
First things first, they needed air. Mentally pushing aside the panic and nausea and all her other symptoms, Isla searched for that faint feeling in her brain, the one that knew where the ocean was. She figured snow was like the ocean, right? It was also a body of water, just in a different form. Then all she had to do was find "Not Ocean" and somehow climb her way towards that. The instinct was weak in her human form but she faintly got the sense of blue on all sides of her. Except maybe, if she was doing this right, under her feet? Shit, she had somehow ended up upside down. Squirming around in the snow, making sure to not let go of Luffy's hand, Isla managed to right herself. Then using her one free hand, she used the claws on her fur to cut towards the surface. It was long and grueling and cold, but she didn't dare let herself stop. Isla knew if she did, she would probably freeze to death.  
Isla gasped as she breached the surface. Taking a few deep breathes of the chilling air, Isla steadied herself on the snow and dragged her body out. Then she turned around and grabbed Luffy's hand and pulled as hard as she could. Normally an effort like that would have broken off his arm, but Isla was so exhausted she barely managed to pull Luffy's body out of the snow. Huffing and puffing she dragged him next to her.   
Next was Sanji. Isla blinked, seeing a black lump in the distance. Hoping it was him, Isla crawled along on her elbows, dragging Luffy behind her. Eventually she made it to what appeared to be Sanji's arm, and Isla yanked his unconscious body out too. Then she collapsed into the snow between the two men. Her knees were shaking something awful and she couldn't feel her fingers anymore. Her vision was going dark around the edges and she erupted into a coughing fit.   
"L...Luffy," she coughed, "Sanji! W...wake up!"  
Isla coughed some more but neither boy moved.  
"P..please wake up!" Isla begged, "I...I'm sorry but I can't go any further."  
The darkness was now overtaking her vision completely and the sound of the howling wind became distant.  
"P...please," Isla asked one last time, unsure of her voice could even be heard.  
She thought she felt Luffy getting up, but she didn't have the strength to turn her head and look. And then everything was dark.

Isla was glad heaven was nice and warm, but did it have to be so stuffy? And why were her arms so heavy too? And why did everything still ache?  
Isla opened her eyes to see a stone ceiling. Oh maybe she wasn't dead after all. That was a relief.  
A noise from the corner of the room alerted her to someone else's presence. Isla turned her head slowly, only to catch a glimpse of a small reindeer puttering around the room.   
Huh maybe she did die after all.  
Isla pinched herself. Nope, still alive and still sick apparently. Although she did feel alot better. Isla glanced at the deer again. He was walking around on his hind legs and wearing pants and a hat. That was weird. Even she didn't wear clothes as an animal and she was a human most of the time!  
Maybe she should say something to the reindeer? Isla did want to know where she was and where her crewmates were too.   
"Uh...uhmm...h...hello," Isla stuttered.  
The reindeer absolutely panicked and ran to hide behind a door, but hid the wrong way so his butt was sticking into the room.  
"Oh!" Isla gasped, realizing she had frightened the poor thing, "I...I'm sorry!"  
"Shut up human!" The reindeer commanded nervously.  
"Y...you can talk too?" Isla asked.  
"I said shut up human! Also are you feeling better?"  
"W...what?" Isla blinked confused at the sudden change.  
"Are you feeling better human?" The reindeer repeated.  
"I...I...I'm not a," Isla began but was cut off by another voice.  
"What are you doing Chopper?!"  
The reindeer screamed in fright and ran out of the doorway and in walked the strangest woman Isla had ever seen. She was clearly older but she wore the tightest clothes and lots of jewelry. In her hands was a large bottle of something alcoholic if Isla's nose was anything to go by.  
"Ya feeling better girlie?" The woman asked before prodding Isla in the forehead.  
"Gah!" Isla yelped as she jumped back.  
"Psh," the woman snorted at Isla's reaction, "Minus 4 degrees, faster than I expected."  
"W...who are you?" Isla asked.  
She really didn't like this strange woman touching her.   
"Can't ya tell?" The woman gestured to herself, "I'm your doctor girlie."  
Now Isla had only seen a doctor a few times in her life, mostly when he had come to their house to treat her father or brother, but he did not look like this woman.  
"N...no?" Isla answered unsurely.  
"It was a rhetorical question girlie!"  
"Eeep!" Isla squealed as the woman manhandled Nami's, well her's now, pajamas into showing off her side.  
"Here's your problem girlie," the doctor gestured to a strange mark on Isla's side, "Ya got bit by a rare poisonous bug," the doctor explained, "Used to be called the 5 Day Fever cause anyone who got bit would run a high fever and then die terribly in 5 days."  
"W...what?" Isla gasped.  
"Ya seemed to have a strange reaction but based on your mark I say this is your third day," the doctor continued, "If you hadn't gotten treatment you would have been dead in two more."  
Isla sent a small thank you prayer to the heavens that no one had listened to her and had actually made her get medical treatment. If they had done as she requested, Isla would have never made it to Alabasta.  
"Strange thing is, the bug that gave you this," the woman chugged some of her drink, "It's been thought extinct for a hundred years."  
A hundred years? Why did that sound so familiar? Isla blinked as she recalled the giants and their hundred year battle. On an island full of animals thought to be extinct. Shit Usopp had been right, Little Garden was deadly.   
"Now rest! You're still ill," the woman shoved Isla back onto the bed.  
"B...but my friends!"  
"Asleep next door. Surprised ya can't hear the snoring."  
Oh that's what that noise was. Isla thought it was just the groaning of an old building.  
"O...oh! T...the reindeer," Isla began.  
"Eh? What about Chopper?" The doctor asked.  
"H...he kept calling me human, but I," Isla was once again interrupted.  
The reindeer, Chopper, burst into the room screaming as an obviously injured Luffy and Sanji chased after him.  
"Meat!" Luffy yelled.  
"Just hold still little reindeer so I can cook you," Sanji instructed.  
"Help me!" Chopper sobbed as he ran around the room in circles, Luffy and Sanji hot on his heels.  
Isla found this scene oddly similar to when she first met the crew. Although the boys had been less dramatic about eating her. She couldn't help but feel bad for Chopper, it was not fun to have people trying to eat you. Plus he looked so little and helpless as he screamed and cried. Instinct kicked in and Isla vaulted out of bed, under the doctor's hand, and scooped Chopped up into her arms.  
"My sweet! I'm glad to see your radiance is shining through again," Sanji complimented, "Now hand over the reindeer and I'll cook you a nice hearty stew to help you get better."  
"Meat!" Luffy drooled.  
"No!" Isla told them firmly, stamping her foot for emphasis.  
"B...but my sweet," Sanji blinked confused.  
"Meat?"  
"F...first you guys try to eat me and now poor Chopper! J...just because something can be eaten doesn't mean it should," Isla told them sternly.  
She really felt quite strongly about this subject. Especially because no one had ever really apologized for debating about eating her.   
"I...I'm really sorry about them," Isla apologized to Chopper, "T...they're actually quite nice when they aren't trying to eat you."  
"They tried to eat you too?" Chopper yelled aghast, "They're cannibals?!!"  
"O...oh no!"  
Isla opened her mouth to explain but was interrupted again.  
"I would never eat a pretty lady!" Sanji defended himself.  
"Is cannibal a type of meat?" Luffy questioned, "Can I eat it?"  
"THEY ARE CANNIBALS!" Chopper screamed in horror.  
"N...no!" Isla tried again, "I...I'm not human! I'm a selkie!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's Chopper! Who doesn't love our little reindeer doctor? And yes Chopper and Isla's friendship starts with bonding over the crew threatening to eat them XD


	9. ApologyFest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Isla attempts to befriend Chopper, Luffy continues to try to eat Chopper, and a strange man wants his kingdom back.

Isla wondered if she should try to stop the doctor from stabbing her injured crewmates. Then again they did deserve a little punishment for calling the doctor a hag and trying to eat Chopper. Isla nestled under the warm covers, exhausted from her "rescue mission". Luffy, Sanji, and the doctor were running too fast for her anyway. What kind of monsters were her crewmates that they could do that even while injured?   
"Are you really a selkie?" Chopped piped up from his hiding place near the fireplace.  
"Y...yes," Isla answered gently, aware that she was literally dealing with a frightened animal, albeit a talking one.  
"I've never treated a selkie before," Chopper muttered to himself, "I think teacher has some notes on them."  
Isla nodded, unsure what to say.  
"D..do you think I can ask you some questions?" Chopper asked nervously, "To make sure your treatment plan is alright? It was meant for humans."  
"S...sure," Isla acquiesced, secretly glad the cute little reindeer wanted to spend more time with her.  
Not only was he adorable, but he was the first creature she met in a while that was as nervous as her. It was somewhat refreshing after the loud and boisterous crew.   
"So I guess just start with explaining a little bit about your species," Chopper cleared his throat, "Uhmm that is if you don't mind."  
"Oh w...well I can transform back and forth into a seal," Isla explained, "A...as a human I have increased strength and flexibility. M...my hearing and smelling are improved too. A...as a seal I have the mind of a human and I can speak human too. Oh uhmm..."  
"Uh huh," Chopper answered distractedly as he furiously wrote down notes in a little book.  
"I...if...if you don't mind me asking," Isla's phrasing caught Chopper's attention, "H...how come you can speak human?"  
"O...oh!" Chopper blushed, "I ate the Human-Human Fruit."  
"S...so you were once just a regular reindeer?" Isla questioned.  
"Well, not really," Chopper laughed nervously, "Blue nose and all. B...but let's not talk about me, can..."  
"I...I think your blue nose is cute," Isla told him.  
"Really?" Chopper blushed a furious red.  
"Y...yeah!" Isla admitted, "Y...you're super adorable!"  
"Shut up, saying shit like that won't make me happy," Chopper denied while smiling and doing a little dance.  
"B...but you look happy," Isla pointed out.  
Chopper ignored that statement.   
"Okay, back to medical work," Chopper insisted.  
Chopper pulled his notebook back out.  
"Can you talk to animals?" Chopper asked.  
"Uh...w...well I can hear them," Isla confessed, "Bu...but I kind of tune them out. I...I don't know how to reply and uh it makes eating them hard. C...carnivore and all that."  
"I understand," Chopped paled.  
Oh Isla had forgotten that being a reindeer, Chopper was most likely a vegetarian. And after she had lectured her crewmates on not being sensitive about the whole "being eaten thing" too!   
"I..I don't like eating them," Isla rushed to say, "B...but I can't help it. Seal and animal instinct and all that."  
Chopper paled further. Apparently Isla was just making things worse by explaining.  
"I'm sorry!" she apologized.   
Isla really hated making people uncomfortable.  
"N...no I'm sorry!" Chopper apologized, "I know not everyone is a vegetarian!"  
"B...but I made you uncomfortable!"  
"N...no I made you uncomfortable!"  
"I...I'm still really sorry!"  
"No, I'm really sorry!"  
"AHHHH! The old lady is trying to kill us!" Luffy screamed from somewhere within the castle.  
"Quit calling me old!" The doctor screeched back.  
Isla and Chopper looked at each other and then at the door. Isla blinked at her captain's stupidity. Chopper just looked curious and a bit frightened.  
"Y..you know," Isla yawned, "They're pretty good people when they're not trying to eat you."  
"Are you really pirates?"  
"Y...yep."  
They were weird pirates but pirates all the same.  
"Do you have a flag?"  
"Huh?"  
"Do you have a pirate flag?"  
"Oh! O...of course! Usopp told me he painted it."  
And then Nami and Zoro had verified that that was the truth.  
"That's so cool!" Chopper whispered.  
"D...do you wanna be a pirate?" Isla asked curiously.  
"N..No! Why would you think that?!" Chopper yelped.  
"C...cause you seemed interested," Isla commented.  
Chopper blushed and looked away. Isla was somewhat of an expert at hiding one's feelings, she had done it most of her life. She could tell Chopper really liked pirates.  
"Y...you should come with us," Isla told him, "T...the crew is really nice and we need a doctor. I...I'm sure Luffy will say yes."  
Isla briefly debated if she was overstepping her bounds by inviting a new crewmember, but then she remembered the grief the crew gave Luffy when he invited her. He seemed to invite anyone he thought was cool, so surely he wouldn't mind?  
"Don't be stupid!" Chopper demanded, "Why would a pirate crew want a talking reindeer?"  
"I...I'm a talking seal," Isla countered, "And they invited me to join."  
"But I'm a freak," Chopper objected, "And I have a blue nose!"  
Before Isla could reply, her crewmates burst back into the room.  
"Ah it's the meat!" Luffy yelled, pointing at Chopper.  
"Ahhhh!" Chopper screamed and ran from the room before Isla could stop him.  
"Come back here meat!" Luffy chased after Chopper.  
Sanji ran after Luffy.  
"Get back here you shit Captain!" He yelled, "My mistress of the sea said we can't eat him! Don't you dare upset my sweet!"  
The doctor slowly jogged back into the room and collapsed into a chair.  
"Punk kids," she huffed before taking a sip of her drink.  
"I...is Chopper gonna be alright?" Isla asked concerned.  
She knew how Luffy could get around food and she really didn't want her Captain eating her potential new friend.  
"He'll be fine," the doctor waved off her concerns, "He's tougher than he looks."  
"O...oh."  
It wasn't like Isla was in any shape to chase after them anyway.  
"So what were you two doing in here anyway?" The doctor smirked, "Trying to steal my assistant?"  
Isla paled.  
"I...I'm so sorry. I...I didn't even realize! H..he just seemed to really like pirates!"  
The doctor laughed at Isla's distraught expression.  
"Eh I don't care girlie, take him with you," the doctor's tone changed, "But it's gonna be hard. That boy has a wound on his heart even a doctor can't heal."  
Then Doctor Kureha launched into the tragedy that was Chopper's backstory. Isla found herself silently crying when she was told how Chopper's own herd had abandoned him and she was outright sobbing when Chopper finally found someone who cared about him. By the time the story finished, Isla was out of tears to cry and was sniffling pathetically.  
"T...that's too much," Isla sniffled, "P...poor Chopper."  
"Now do you see why I said he has a wound even a doctor can't heal?" Kureha asked, "He can't take anymore tragedy. So don't offer him a place unless you understand that."  
Isla felt a stab of protective anger at that. Her crew would never hurt Chopper further. Everyone on board was a kind individual who had gone out of their way to help Isla even though she was the newest member and a freak of nature herself. If anyone could help Chopper it would be her crew, especially her Captain. After all they were helping her and they didn't even know it.  
The tranquil atmosphere was broken by Chopper charging back into the room in his deer form.   
"Wapol is back," Chopper announced seriously.  
Luffy and Sanji came bursting into the room.  
"Is he now?" Doctor Kureha grinned, "Let's send that idiot off."  
With that Doctor Kureha and Chopper stormed off. Luffy made to follow them but Isla grabbed the back of his vest.  
"P...please ask Chopper to join our crew," Isla begged, "H...he's a good doctor and he needs us."  
"My sweet are you crying?" Sanji noticed the tear tracks.  
"P...please ask him," Isla ignored Sanji's fussing over her.  
Luffy patted her on the head and Isla looked up at him.  
"I was going to ask him anyway!" Luffy grinned, "He's a talking reindeer!"  
Isla giggled, remembering why Luffy had asked her to join his crew. She released Luffy's vest. She didn't know why she had ever questioned her captain, of course Luffy was gonna ask Chopper to join. How could he turn down a reindeer with a hat?  
"Now stay here and get better!" Luffy ordered before turning to Sanji, "Come on let's go see what's happening."  
"I will be back as soon as I can my sweet," Sanji cooed, "Try to rest as well as you can without my presence."  
Then the two were off. A small part of Isla wondered who Wapol was, but a much larger part of her was exhausted. So Isla settled in for a nap. 

"Cold! Cold! Cold!" Luffy howled as reentered the room.  
Isla blearily blinked at him.  
"W...what's going on?"   
"It's cold," Luffy announced as he proceeded to search through the room.  
Was he just now realizing that? He had dragged her body up a whole snow covered mountain and had even been buried in snow. And now he realizes he's cold?! Her captain was so weird.  
"Uhhh....yes it is?" Isla agreed.  
"It's cold and I need a jacket so I can fight," Luffy explained as he continued to tear the room apart.  
"Oh uhmm," Isla glanced around.  
There was clearly no jacket in the room and Sanji was probably wearing his. The fur shifted around Isla's neck. This was probably a terrible idea, but she couldn't let her captain freeze to death.  
"Ah L...Luffy come here," Isla gestured him over.  
Luffy looked confused but obliged. Carefully Isla removed the fur from around her neck.  
"I...I'm going to let you borrow this," Isla told him in a serious tone, "B..but please be careful. This is precious to me."  
Luffy studied the fur for a moment.  
"Is this your treasure?" Luffy asked.  
Nami had explained to her that the Captain viewed his own hat as his treasure and was very protective over it.   
"Y...yes," Isla agreed, "I...it means more than anything to me."  
"I'll take good care of it!" Luffy grinned and gave her a thumbs up.  
Isla felt slightly more at ease with that promise. She knew her captain took his promises very seriously.  
"T...thank you," Isla gave him a small smile back.  
"Now you rest and I'll take care of everything," Luffy assured her.  
He proceeded to tie the fur around his neck like a cape.  
"Oooh, this is really warm!" Luffy murmured in awe.  
Then he waved goodbye and dashed out the door. At least he had the decency to close it behind him. Feeling a little chilly and oddly naked without her fur, Isla bundled herself up in the blankets.   
"I believe in Luffy," she sleepily whispered to herself, "He'll bring it back."

Despite her assurances to herself, Isla fell into a restless sleep. Her anxiety just wouldn't stop.   
"I believe in Luffy," Isla repeated to herself for nth time.  
"I...I can wait till he comes back," she tried.  
Damn it, she was still stuttering over any sentence she didn't 100% believe.  
"I can," she tried again, "Wa...wait. Damn it."  
Isla eyed the door. Maybe she would just feel better if she got up to check? She could just do a real quick peak and then come back, right?  
"I can w...wait. Damn," Isla cursed.  
Screw it, she was going to check. Isla threw several blankets around her shoulders and padded through the castle. Normally, she didn't bother with shoes (shoes felt weird to her after having flippers) but she was glad someone had left her slippers. Without her fur she was neither waterproof nor immune to the cold. Finally Isla found the front doors to the castle and poked her head out.  
"Damn it, I want to fight too," Sanji wheezed from the ground.  
Despite sounding out of breathe and being sat on by Dr. Kureha, he was still managing to smoke a cigarette. It was weirdly impressive.  
"Eehhh? S...Sanji, why is the doctor sitting on you?" Isla asked befuddled.  
"Ah! My sweet I didn't want you to see me this way!"  
"What are ya doing out of bed?" the doctor growled, "You're supposed to be resting!"  
The doctor held up a knife menacingly.  
"Eeep!" Isla squeaked, "I...I'm just checking on my pelt! H...honest!"  
"Your pelt?" The doctor blinked before looking over to Luffy.  
Luffy was fighting some strange combination of a house and a man while Chopper was fighting what looked like two men smushed together. Isla briefly wondered what kind of medicine the doctor had given her.  
"I knew it was your lovely fur," Sanji sang, "I would recognize my sweet's pelt anywhere."  
"Surprised ya let him borrow it," the doctor smirked, "Considering ya can't transform without it."  
A shiver that had nothing to do with the cold ran up Isla's spine. She had forgotten the doctor had some previous selkie knowledge.  
"What?" Sanji yelled, "Luffy give my sweet her pelt!"  
Luckily Luffy didn't seem to hear him over the cannon fire.  
"I...it's okay. Luffy knows it's my treasure," Isla hugged the blankets a little closer, "I trust Luffy."  
"Ya let him borrow it without knowing the significance?" the doctor seemed puzzled.  
"No," Sanji disagreed, "She told him what he needed to know. Captain understands the value of personal treasures more than anything. That's why he'll bring it back."  
It was nice to hear that Sanji had faith in Luffy too. His statement reassured Isla and she could breathe a little easier now.  
"Then ya should be resting," the doctor grumbled.  
Isla shook her head. She hated disagreeing with people, but she needed to be here. She trusted Luffy, but something inside her told her to stay.  
"S...sorry," Isla smiled, "I can't do that."  
Was Sanji blushing? Isla's focus was redirected to the fight as Chopper transformed into a giant fluffy form and launched into a speech about his Devil Fruit research.  
"So fluffy!" Isla couldn't help but squeal.  
He was possibly even more adorable in this form than his other form!  
"Seven transformations!" Luffy grinned, "He's got seven transformations!"  
"Eh, what's wrong with your captain?" Doctor Kureha asked.  
"He's just really excited," Sanji sighed at his captain's exuberance.  
Isla blinked as she noticed Luffy was so involved in Chopper's fight, he didn't notice his own opponent getting away. She went to point this out but then changed her mind. Luffy seemed to be really enjoying Chopper's fight and Sanji was currently incapacitated. Quietly, Isla slipped away and followed the giant house man inside.  
The man seemed oddly familiar with the castle, like he was looking for one room in particular. Isla guessed she should probably stop him before he found it.  
"Uhmm, e...excuse me," Isla piped up, "Could you please leave?"  
"You!" The man accused her, "You're with the Strawhat boy!"  
"Y...yes I am?" Isla answered truthfully.  
"Then I'm going to get my revenge through you!" The man shouted before charging for her while brandishing a large knife.  
Oh, maybe asking enemies to leave politely had not been the way to go. Isla readied her stance to fight back before realizing something important.  
"My pelt!" She gasped.  
Luffy still had her pelt! And she wasn't sure how much she could fight without it while still being ill. Seeing the crazy man charging for her, Isla made a split second decision. She ran.  
"Get back here you!"  
"N..no thank you!"  
Isla dodged around icy pillars and leaped down a staircase.  
"Ah I'm stuck!" The man seemed surprised.  
Isla was not considering his massive weight and that he was the size of a small house. She was glad for the breather though as she wheezed heavily. Stupid illness.   
"Alright, I'll just eat myself," the man stated.  
Isla blinked. Did she just hear what she thought she heard?  
The man's jaw dislocated and encompassed his head.  
"Ewwwwwwwww!" Isla shrieked before darting to the other side of the chamber.  
Why would anyone do that?! That was so gross!   
The man ate his entire body until he was just a jaw. A jaw that just laid there, morbid curiosity forced Isla to creep closer. Did her enemy just eat himself to death?  
There was a pop and suddenly the man was there and whole again but suddenly much skinnier.  
"Skinny Wapol form!" He announced before leaping after Isla.  
Surprised Isla slipped on a patch of ice and was knocked to the ground by the man.  
"I'm going to eat you!"  
"N...no! Ewww!" Isla screamed as the man drooled on her.  
Isla used her hands to keep his jaw away from her but she was having trouble finding purchase as his jaw moved erratically. This was so gross! But she did not want to be eaten! That was not how she wanted to go! One of her hands grasped onto some sort of chain.   
"Get off!" Isla yelled as she pulled her other hand back and punched as hard as she could.  
The chain broke and the man went flying several feet away. Damn, usually she could hit much further.  
Stupid illness.  
Thankfully Luffy leapt into the room and sent the man flying with another kick. Sanji crawled over to her side.  
"Are you alright my sweet?"  
"H...he tried to eat me," Isla hiccuped.  
"He tried to WHAT?" Sanji stumbled to his feet, "I'll kill him!"  
"W...why do things keep trying to eat me?" Isla asked.  
Her question was ignored. The man had launched into some sort of threat about a weapon's room before realizing his key was missing and running off. Isla looked at the chain still in her hand. On it dangled a big key.   
"G...guess it was lucky I grabbed this," Isla muttered to herself.  
Luffy gave chase after Wapol. Sanji attempted to follow but collapsed back to the floor.  
"Ah! S...Sanji!" Isla crawled over.  
"No my sweet," Sanji moaned, "I have to protect your honor!"  
Isla blushed.  
"I...it's okay, you don't have to do that," Isla tried to assure him.  
"I must!" Sanji argued, "For what is a man if he cannot protect a woman?"  
"A man with a fragile ego," Doctor Kureha spoke up, "Come on, they're heading to the roof. Let's go watch this from outside."  
Sanji sobbed pitifully.   
"Uhmm th...there, there?" Isla patted him on the back.  
She eventually managed to convince Sanji to lean on her for support to stand up. Isla even let under the blankets around her shoulders.  
"My sweet to be snuggled up with you is like a dream come true!" Sanji cooed.  
"Eeep!" Isla squealed as he nuzzled into her neck.  
In her shock she accidentally let go of him and Sanji collapsed back to the ground.   
"S...sorry!" Isla apologized while blushing furiously, "P...please don't surprise me like that!"  
Sanji gave her a weak thumbs up from the ground. Eventually she managed to get Sanji up again (this time with a blanket between them as a layer of protection). Sanji pouted at that but didn't protest as Isla and him hobbled out the front door. They managed to get there just in time to witness Luffy send Wapol flying and for the rest of the crew to arrive in some strange mechanical device.  
"Vivi!" Isla cried out.  
"Isla! Sanji! You're alright," Vivi breathed a sigh of relief.  
"M...mostly," Isla admitted.  
"Where's?" Zoro began before having to sidestep as Luffy came plummeting off the roof and landed on poor Usopp.  
A bunch of men came off the strange mechanical device too and began bombarding Luffy with questions. Sanji poked Isla to get her attention and gestured to the side of the castle. Together they limped over and rested against the wall.  
"S...sanji, why are we hiding over here?"  
"I don't want that crazy old hag to find us," Sanji shivered fearfully, "She'll never let us leave."  
"O...okay," Isla agreed.  
She was feeling weak but a lot better and she didn't want to hold up the travel to Vivi's kingdom anymore than necessary. She already felt bad enough as it is, even though it had been vital to her health to stop for a doctor.  
"That means YOU TOO!" Doctor Kureha came out of nowhere, kicking down a portion of the wall.  
"AHHHHH!" Isla and Sanji screamed as the fearsome doctor grabbed them by their collars and hauled them off for treatment.

Somehow Isla managed to trade the key to the weapons room for her and Sanji's freedom (with Nami's bargaining help). Isla borrowed the doctor's coat and Nami and Vivi dragged Sanji's prone form out of the castle. When they got outside the rest of the crew was gathered around Luffy and Chopper.  
"I can't come with you!" Chopped cried, "I'm a monster!"  
Isla's heart ached in sympathy at Chopper's cry. She knew what it was like to think herself a monster. She had thought it for a long time after she fled her home. After all, if she wasn't a monster than why had her father insisted on binding her mother's power and not tell Isla of her own? It was only when she realized that her mother had essentially scarified herself for her that Isla began to see herself as something worthy of being loved. Yes her mother had been a less than stellar mother, but she had sacrificed her livelihood and eventually for her life for Isla. That proved she was worth something right?   
"But thank you for inviting me," Chopper declared, "Please come visit me."  
"Just shut up and come with us!" Luffy yelled.  
"C...chopper if you're a monster," Isla called to him, "T..than I'm a monster too! And we monsters have to stick together!"  
"Yeah we're all monsters!" Luffy shouted, "So let's go be pirates together!"  
Chopper burst into tears as he agreed.  
Nami quickly cut the emotional outbursts short as she pointed out their need to leave speedily. Chopper rushed off to say goodbye but came running back just as quickly with Doctor Kureha chasing after him. Zoro quickly hauled Isla into the lift and the rest of the crew quickly followed. As Chopped pulled the lift back down the mountain Isla couldn't help but notice the beautiful full moon overhead. It brought up a plethora of selkie memories and Isla let herself relax as they overtook her. Dazedly she watched the snow empire become a sakura kingdom. It wasn't until she was back on the ship that Isla came back to herself.  
"Oh you're awake," Nami noted, "The fight must of wore you out, do you feel better now?"  
"Y...yeah a lot better," Isla smiled before she noticed Luffy dancing around the deck.  
"Oh, L...Luffy! My pelt!" Isla called after him.  
"You've had her pelt this whole time?" Sanji yelled, "Don't you know my precious mistress of the sea needs that?!"  
"Keep it down shitty chef," Zoro groused.  
"Sorry it got a little singed," Luffy apologized, "There were bombs."  
"And you still kept it whole?" Isla gaped.  
"Of course," Luffy nodded, "It's your precious treasure."  
Isla felt tears well up in her eyes as Luffy tied her pelt back around her neck. Despite the slight burnt smell, she had her fur back nice and whole. Unable to resist, Isla popped over to seal form and then back again.  
"Ack!" Luffy yelped as Isla suddenly embraced him.  
"Thank you!" Isla grinned gleefully.  
Luffy grinned back.  
"I want a hug from my lovely Isla!" Sanji whined.  
"Guys!" Usopp announced, "Let's give a toast to our new friend and member Chopper!"  
"Here here!" Everyone cheered.  
Vivi handed Isla a mug and the crew launched into another rowdy party.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo! Chopper on board! And that's the end of the Drum Kingdom arc! Onward to Alabasta!


	10. Chaos on the Ocean Blue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chopper does his doctoring, Isla does her Selkie thing.

One of Chopper's first acts as official Strawhat Pirate Doctor was to conduct physicals on everyone. Isla's was twice as long due to her being ill recently and Chopper wanted to perform a physical on her seal form too. He made a pretty good vet.  
"Isla!" Chopper screeched running across the deck.  
Nami merely pointed him towards the back of the ship and Chopper ran screaming in that direction.  
"Wonder what that was about," Nami murmured.  
"Who knows," Zoro shrugged from his resting place.  
Nami glared at him.  
"Hope everything is okay," Vivi added.  
"Isla! Isla!" Chopper yelled.  
Isla dropped the weights she was holding and barely managed to catch then before they collided with the deck. Zoro had been nice enough to lend her some of his old weights and teach her the basics. But she wasn't supposed to be working out until she got the all clear from Chopper.  
"I...I wasn't doing anything!" Isla stuttered as she attempted to hide the massive weight behind her back.  
"Isla," Chopper stopped to catch his breath, "I got your blood results back. Have you been eating?"  
"O...of course," Isla frowned, "W...why?"  
"Your seal form is particularly malnourished," Chopper lectured, "Did you change your eating habits at all since you became a selkie?"  
"Uh... we...well for a while I was living as a seal," Isla explained," A...and I had to learn to hunt so food was a little meager. B...but I'm a lot better now! And Sanji feeds me too."  
"Yes, but how much does Sanji feed you?" Chopper asked.  
Oh Isla had a bad feeling about this. She really didn't want Sanji to get in trouble for something that was her fault.  
"I....I don't know," Isla replied nervously, "P...please don't punish him. T...this is my fault. I...I should know better."  
Know better about what she didn't know, but she was certain this was her fault and not Sanji's.  
"Isla," Chopper sighed, "I'm not going to punish him. We just need to talk about your nutrient requirements. It's different than a human's."  
"O...oh," Isla sighed in relief.  
"You can't blame yourself either," Chopper began, "From what you told me, there's no way you could have... IS THAT ONE OF ZORO'S WEIGHTS?"  
"Uhhhh, n...no," Isla lied.  
"ISLA!"  
"I...I'm sorry!"  
After a long lecture on the importance of waiting for medical clearance, Chopper dragged Isla around the ship to the kitchen. For such a nervous guy, Chopper could really become aggressive when it came to health.  
"Ah, Sanji," Chopper poked his head into the kitchen.  
Isla allowed Chopper's Brain Point form to drag her in as well. She could have resisted strength wise but she definitely couldn't resist adorable-wise. Sanji was putting away the dishes from lunch, an unlit cigarette dangling from his lips.  
"Yes, Chopper?" Sanji turned in their direction, "And my lovely Isla! My sweet! Do you need anything?"  
Briefly, Isla wondered if Sanji would free her from Chopper's lectures if she asked. Oh but that wasn't really fair to Chopper who was just doing his best to take care of her.   
"W..we're in trouble," Isla pointed to Chopper's serious face.  
Sanji raised his eyebrows at that.  
"For the last time, you are not in trouble," Chopper sighed, "Would the two of you please sit down? I'll be right back."  
Chopper indicated towards the table. Isla slumped down in her seat and Sanji silently took the seat next to her. Chopper nodded at them before leaving the room.  
"What's all this about?" Sanji questioned, lighting his cigarette.  
Isla slumped down further in her seat. Despite what Chopper said, it sure felt like she was in trouble. She wondered if it was possible to shrink down and disappear. Or the more likely option of sneaking away as a seal. Isla caught Sanji staring at her from the corner of her eye. She looked back at the tabletop.  
"M...my blood results weren't good," Isla whispered meekly.  
Sanji sat ramrod straight. His eyes wide.  
"You're not still sick are you?" Sanji asked, taking Isla's hands in his.  
Isla flushed at the contact before realizing what he said.  
"O...oh no," Isla shook her head, "All better. N...nothing life-threatening."  
Isla attempted to give Sanji a reassuring smile. Sanji let out a sigh of relief.  
"Good," Sanji's thumbs caressed her hands, "You had me worried, my sweet."  
"Eeeep!" Isla squealed as Sanji's hands encased her wrists and placed them on either side of his face.  
Too close! He was way too close! His face was mere centimeters from hers and staring at her lovingly. Isla could feel her entire face heat up. Sanji noticed and let a smile grace his face.   
Damn it! Now he looked even prettier!  
"Are you falling for me, my sweet?" Sanji cooed.  
Thankfully (for Isla) the moment was interrupted by Chopper's return. He took one look at the two of them and baulked.  
"H...Hey! I'm too young to see this!" Chopper cried out.  
Isla's whole body turned a delightful shade of embarrassed red as she snatched her hands back from Sanji and scooted as far away as the bench would allow. Which was not very far at all.  
"I...it's not like that!" Isla yelled defensively.  
"Why do you reject my love?" Sanji sobbed.  
"W...what?!" Isla and Chopper shrieked.  
Deciding enough was enough, Isla popped into a seal and attempted to slide away.  
"Oh no you don't!" Chopper tackled her, "I am the doctor and you need to hear this!"  
"No! Don't wanna!" Isla fought back, but Chopper transformed into his heavy point and dragged her back into her seat by her tail.  
Reluctantly, Isla transformed back into a human. Sanji was grinning like a lunatic as he happily smoked his cigarette.   
"Now listen," Chopper transformed into his brain point, "I got the results back from Isla's blood test and the results are worrying."  
Chopper held up a piece of paper that Isla could make neither heads nor tails of. Sanji seemed to be able to though as his brown furrowed as he read it.  
"Isla is eating nowhere near the amount she should be," Chopper explained, "Her transformations and having two different metabolisms must mean she goes through calories quickly. Her seal form is badly malnourished as well. She needs a diet rich in proteins and fats."  
"Why didn't you tell me you were still hungry?" Sanji's voice cracked as he turned from the paper to Isla, "I would have gladly fed you more."  
"I...uh...I didn't notice," Isla whispered.  
Sanji looked heartbroken over the fact that he had failed in providing for one of his crewmembers. Isla felt terrible. She hadn't meant to make him feel guilty or for Chopper to worry over her. She honestly hadn't noticed.  
"I...I guess I just went hungry for so long the first few months as a seal that I...I don't really notice anymore," Isla explained.  
"Your stomach probably shrank to accommodate the small amount you were eating," Chopper nodded, "It means we're going to have to carefully and slowly raise your food amount up."  
"Leave it to me, my sweet!" Sanji declared, "I'll make sure you never go hungry again!"  
He said it with such passion and ferocity that all Isla could do was nod in response. Satisfied, Sanji turned to Chopper.  
"Explain to me her dietary requirements," Sanji said eagerly.  
"From what I can tell," Chopper launched into a speech that Isla tuned out.  
She knew she should have been paying attention but weirdly Isla felt like it was okay to tune out. Sanji was going to take care of it. He said so and Isla believed him. It had been so long since anyone had taken care of Isla and in the span of one week alone, this crew had done so twice. First with her illness and now with her needs. Sanji didn't complain about how he was going to have to change his meal planning and prepping for her, he seemed eager to do it. And Chopper hadn't just told Isla to take care of her nutritional needs, he had walked her and the chef through it.   
Before this, Isla had taken care of herself. Her mother had been in a sort of vegetative state since her childhood and Isla and her brother had fended for themselves. Her father provided the food, but they had learned to store it and cook it. Isla had learned to sew her own clothes or else she wouldn't have any. When her brother became a fisherman with her father, it was all left to Isla. She took care of herself, the house, and her mother.   
But now there were people taking care of her.   
Isla couldn't bring herself to hate it or the warm fuzzy feeling it brought her. It was nice to be cared for.

Isla stared longingly at the ocean. Ever since Chopper and Sanji had discussed her new food requirements, Sanji had been going out of his way to feed her hardier meals. Her appetite had woken up with a vengeance and soon Isla could give Zoro a run for his money when it came to eating. Not Luffy though, that boy's eating was terrifying in its ferocity. Overall Isla had been happier with the new meals until the morning, when Luffy ate all the food on board. As punishment Sanji was making Luffy fish for new food. Usopp, Carou and Chopper claimed to be helping out of the goodness of their hearts but Isla could smell the food crumbs on them. The point was that there was no food, Isla was starving, and she had been banned from helping the boys fish.   
"So hungry," Isla whined, face planting against the rail of the ship.  
"You sound like Luffy," Nami told her.  
Isla's stomach gave a loud growl.  
"Now you really sound like Luffy," Nami muttered.  
"I'm sure they'll catch something soon," Vivi attempted to assure Isla.  
Isla looked over at the boys. Luffy was somehow tangled in a fishing line. Vivi followed her gaze.  
"Maybe I can ask Mr. Chef if there's anything left?" Vivi offered.  
"J...just let me go swimming," Isla begged.  
As it turns out, feeding her the proper amount, also helped Isla with her selkie prowess. She was even stronger now and a much faster swimmer. Luffy was helping her name several new moves she had come up with as well. Even her hunting had approved.  
"No," Nami stated firmly, "They got us into this mess. They can get us out."  
"Try drinking," Zoro suggested.  
"I don't think that's a good idea," Vivi voiced.  
"Why? Booze has calories," Zoro elaborated.   
"I'm surprised you know that," Nami deadpanned.  
"I'm smarter than I look," Zoro argued.  
"All I'm saying is that you weren't invited onto this crew for your brains," Nami teased.  
"Where did Miss Selkie go?" Vivi asked.  
Zoro and Nami glanced around.   
"Isla! You better not have!" Nami threatened.  
Isla peaked back over the railing to meet Nami's gaze. Sullenly, she climbed back over.  
"You're wet," Nami pointed out.  
"Y..yes," Isla fidgeted in place.  
"So you admit to going fishing?"  
"I...I didn't have time to find any fish."  
"Then what's behind your back?"  
"M...my hands?" Isla offered.  
"You're hiding a fish!" Nami accused her.  
Another side effect of eating better was that Isla's animal instincts had grown stronger. In that moment, she was a starving animal and Nami was threatening her food source. So Isla did the only logical thing, for an animal anyway. She placed the raw fish in her mouth and ran for it.  
"Isla!" Nami screeched after her.  
"Miss Selkie!" Vivi called, "Don't eat the fish raw! It's unhealthy."  
Zoro saluted Isla with his sake bottle. Nami proceeded to chase Isla around the deck, attempting to take the fish from her. Isla, afraid of turning into a seal and losing previous speed, ran with the fish hanging from her mouth.  
Sanji appeared on deck.  
"Sanji! Don't let her eat the fish!" Nami ordered.  
"Ah my sweet! At least let me cook it for you!" Sanji yelled as he joined in the chase.  
Usopp, Luffy, and Chopper abandoned their fishing to cheer Isla on.  
Eventually Nami managed to corner Isla.  
"Just hand the fish over," Nami said dangerously.  
Isla shook her head, desperately looking for an escape route.   
"There's no where to run," Nami stated.  
Unfortunately, Nami was right. Isla looked between Nami and her nonexistent exits. Her food was in danger! Her precious food! Instinct demanded she protect it at all costs.  
So Isla did the only logical thing.  
She swallowed the fish whole.  
Nami blinked at Isla.  
Isla blinked at Nami.  
"Did you just," Nami gaped, "Eat that raw fish whole?"  
"I...I was hungry," Isla defended herself.  
"But you just swallowed the whole thing," Nami repeated in shock.  
"It....it might be a selkie thing?" Isla suggested, "I...It's how I eat fish as a seal."  
Nami stared at her blankly.  
"You're so weird," she finally said before turning around.  
"I...I'm not weird!" Isla protested.  
"You are!" Luffy howled with laughter.  
Isla blushed.  
"I...I was hungry!"  
"My sweet! At least let me cook the fish from now on," Sanji begged.  
Isla nodded, embarrassed at the whole spectacle. She decided not to tell the crew that the fish tasted better raw. After all, she didn't want them to think her weird.

"I...I've never seen an underwater volcano from above," Isla marveled.  
"Oh, have you seen them from under the sea?" Nami asked.  
"Mmm n...no not personally," Isla explained, "B...but other selkies have."  
"What?" Nami deadpanned.  
"Oh, uhmmm s...selkies can share memories with each other," Isla stuttered.  
"And you're just telling us now?!"   
"Ah, I...I'm too far from my pod to receive any new ones. I...I just have old ones andp they come randomly."  
"Is that why you space out sometimes?" Zoro questioned.  
"Y...yeah," Isla muttered shyly.  
"So they're useless after all," Nami sighed.  
"H...hey!" Isla objected.  
Although harsh what Nami said was kind of true. While the memories were informative for seal behavior, they hadn't helped with much else.  
"Ooooh! Here comes the steam!" Luffy shouted in excitement.  
"Ack! It smells like sulfur!" Usopp coughed.  
"Do you hear something?" Chopper's ears were twitching.  
Isla strained to listen.  
"S...swan?" Isla repeated.  
Chopper shook his head in agreement.  
"I don't hear anything," Vivi added.  
"Isla and I have different ranges of hearing then you guys," Chopper lectured, "Although maybe we heard an animal?"  
The smoke cleared up.  
Usopp and Luffy were gaping at their fishing lines. Isla followed their gaze to Carou. Hanging from around Carou's neck was a man in a fur coat and swan wings.  
"That's a strange animal," Zoro mused.  
The man seemed so startled by his predicament that he accidentally let go of Carou.  
"Ah! I can't swim!" The man yelled as he fell into the sea.  
"Ah! The weird dude is drowning!" Luffy shouted.  
"We should save him!" Chopper panicked before darting for the railing.  
"Not you," Zoro picked Chopper up, "You can't swim either."  
"What do we do?!" Usopp screamed.  
"I'll get him!" Luffy offered.  
"Not you either!" Nami and Zoro yelled together.  
Isla flopped back on deck in seal form, the strange man on her back. She poofed back as the man began coughing up water.  
"H...he sinks fast," Isla huffed.  
"Good job Lala!" Luffy patted her on the back.  
Isla blushed.  
"It's Isla," Nami sighed.  
Luffy showed no signs of having heard her. The strange swan man seemed to gather himself and profusely thanked the crew for saving his life.  
"So you can't swim either," Luffy laughed.  
"Yes," the man admitted, "I ate a Devil fruit."  
"Which one?" Usopp asked curiously.  
"I shall put on a show to demonstrate!" The man announced gleefully before spinning in a circle and punching Luffy in the face. The whole crew was shocked by the suddenness of it.  
"This is my power!" The man shouted before turning into Luffy.  
Isla gaped at him. This was by far the strangest thing she had seen and she had seen some weird stuff since joining this crew.  
"I can transform into anyone with a touch," the man sang.  
He touched Zoro, Usopp, Chopper, and Nami's faces. The man attempted to touch Isla's face too but she was not fond of the idea of a stranger touching her, so she politely backed up. The man raised an eyebrow at her before resuming his show. He transformed into her fellow crewmembers, body and all, (although Nami whacked him for turning into her). He then showed off an assortment of random faces. Usopp, Chopper and Luffy were enthralled by the whole thing. Zoro went to take a nap and Nami just seem aggravated by the song and dance they broke into. Isla was secretly hoping Luffy didn't ask this weirdo to join the crew too.   
"Hey, is that your ship?" Nami pointed towards a ship heading towards them.  
"Oh my, oh me, it certainly can be," the man rhymed before dancing onto the railing.  
"Noooo! Don't go!" Luffy cried after him.  
Isla let out a sigh of relief at the strange man's departure.   
"Do not be sad my babies!" The man called out to them, "For our separation was inevitable! May our friendship live on in your hearts!"  
Then he leaped from their boat to his (which also had a swan theme Isla noted). Usopp, Chopper, and Luffy were bawling and waving goodbye.  
"Let's sail my pretties," the man told his crew.  
"Yes sir, Mr. Two Bon Clay, sir," his crew chorused and before Isla could blink they were sailing away.  
"Mister Two?!" The Strawhats shrieked.  
"Vivi! You didn't recognize him?" Luffy shouted.  
"I never met the Mr. 2 or Mr. 1 pair," Vivi explained, "I didn't know about the Devil fruit either! Although there were rumors about Mr. 2 being a strange swan drag queen."  
"You should've recognized him," the boys noted.  
Isla couldn't help but agree. After all how many people dressed like that? For her sake she was hoping one, he was already overwhelming as it was.  
"What do we do? He knows our faces! If he finds out we're his enemies, we're screwed," Usopp panicked.  
"We won't be able to trust each other either," Nami pointed out.  
"Ah, Isla you're so smart not to let him steal your face," Chopper whispered in awe.  
"Yeah, how'd you know to do that?" Luffy questioned, finger up his nose.  
"I...I didn't," Isla confessed, "H...he was just really weird. I...I just didn't want him touching me."  
"That's it?!" Zoro, Usopp, and Luffy screeched, jaws dropping to the floor in shock.  
"He was weird," Nami agreed.  
"He had my father's face too," Vivi interrupted, "Why did he have my father's face?"  
"This is really bad," Usopp commented, knees knocking together in fear.  
Luffy ran to the railing, arm ready to slingshot after the fleeing ship.  
"Wait, Luffy," Zoro smirked, "This could be a good thing we ran into him."  
"How so?" Chopper piped up.  
"Because now," Zoro grinned menacingly, "We can employ countermeasures."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We've finally reached Alabasta! Sort of! But hey we met Mister Two! Although Isla thinks he's an absolute weirdo XD


	11. Entry to Alabasta

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The crew finallly makes it ashore! Of course nothing goes as planned and poor Isla is stuck in the middle of it.

After the small incident with the ballerina pirate who could borrow faces, the crew made it to Alabasta. Isla found herself both immensely relieved and dreading the entire adventure. On the one hand, Isla was glad that they had made it to the country before civil war broke out. On the other hand, Vivi had forgotten to mention her country consisted mostly of desert, Isla's ecological enemy. Even the heat was oppressing and overbearing and they were still seaside.   
"I...I'm dying," Isla groaned as the crew dropped anchor.  
The plan was to go ashore to get information and supplies. They were supposed to be keeping a low profile, as they were presumed dead. So of course their Captain had run off, yelling about food.  
"Sh...should we go get him?" Isla asked.  
Nami sighed, annoyed with their captain.  
"Zoro can you, wait nevermind," Nami shook her head, "Isla, go fetch him."  
"M....me?" Isla stuttered in shock.  
"Yes you," Nami explained, "I need Vivi to lead us around, Sanji and Chopper to buy the supplies, and if I send Zoro we'll never see either of them again."  
"Hey! What about me?!" Usopp objected.  
"Do you wanna go?" Zoro raised an eyebrow.  
"Well, no," Usopp admitted.  
"Then Isla it is!" Nami cheered, "Try to be back here in two hours!"  
Nami shoved Isla down the gangplank. Isla squealed but abided and waved at the crew before setting off after Luffy.  
"Th...this is the worse," Isla mumbled as she continued to search high and low for Luffy.  
The sun was beating down on her harshly and Isla's fur cloak was only trapping the heat. Her human body was sweating buckets, which her seal half found weirdly disgusting. Plus, the air smelled thickly of perfume, making tracking Luffy by smell nearly impossible. Which meant Isla had to go up and ask people if they had seen her weird captain, a task she dreaded. Basically she was hot and sticky irritated and had nothing to show for all her effort. All Isla wanted was to go back to the ocean!   
"H...have you seen a man in a strawhat?" Isla asked a woman with glasses.  
"A straw hat?" The woman repeated.  
"Y...yes. H...he was probably smiling or complaining about food," Isla added.  
She thought that was a pretty apt description of her captain. His mannerisms were unique.   
"I can't say that I have," the woman eyed Isla suspiciously, "How do you know him?"  
"H...he's my captain!" Isla answered truthfully.  
A pair of handcuffs snapped around her wrists.  
"Ehhhhhh?!!!" Isla yelped in surprise.  
"You're under arrest by the World Government for piracy! You're under my care until Captain Smoker returns!" The woman announced.  
"W...what?" Isla gaped.  
Oh no she had somehow managed to make a bad situation worse! Nami was going to kill her! And she still hadn't found Luffy!  
"I...I'm not a pirate," Isla fibbed.  
"You're a terrible liar," the woman deadpanned.  
"I...I know," Isla sighed.  
Hey at least she tried. Isla jiggled the cuffs. She could probably break them if necessary, but then she would have to run and look for Luffy at the same time. Isla really didn't fancy running in this heat. Maybe she should wait? At least until she saw Luffy or a better opportunity to escape came along. Besides the woman looked oddly excited at having caught her (not that Isla was much of a catch as fair as pirates went).   
"Alright," the woman straightened up, "Please inform me or your name and moniker for the paperwork."  
"M...my name is I...Is...Isla," Isla frowned as she thought it over, "An...and I don't have a moniker."  
"Of course you have one," the woman insisted, "What is the name on your bounty posters?"  
Isla paused. What was the name on her bounty posters? Did she even have a bounty poster? She didn't think so. Isla wasn't even sure she had committed any crimes as a pirate. In fact, now that she thought about it, she didn't even have an official crew position! Even Chopper, who joined after her, had one!   
"I...I don't have one," Isla admitted sadly.  
"You don't have a bounty poster?" The woman asked perplexed.  
Isla nodded.  
"What kind of pirate are you?"   
"A...a bad one!" Isla cried.  
"Oh," the woman looked shocked at the turn of events.  
"I...I can't do an..anything right!" Isla sobbed.  
"Uh," the woman nervously patted Isla on the shoulder, "There, there?"  
"I...I just wanted to be a good friend!" Isla explained through tears, "L...Luffy was so nice to me! I...I wanted to be a good pirate for him!"  
"I'm sure you will be," the woman assured her.  
"R...really?" Isla's voice was full of hope.  
"I mean," the woman gestured to the cuffs still on Isla's wrists, "I arrested you for piracy so that's a good first step."  
"I...I guess you're right," Isla gave her arresting officer a small smile, "T...thank you."  
"This is so weird," the woman muttered to herself, "No one has ever thanked me for arresting them."  
Isla gave her a shy smile. The lady was pretty nice for being both a marine and her arrester. Although she probably shouldn't think that about her supposed enemy.  
"TASHIGI!" A gruff voice shouted.  
"Yes Captain Smoker," the woman snapped to attention, "I have caught a pirate during your absence."  
"STOP HIM!" The man interrupted, pointing at a speeding figure heading towards them, "It's Straw Hat!"  
Isla thought she recognized those bulging cheeks running at a high speed. Yeah she had succeeded in finding Luffy! Though he was currently being chased by marines and she was captured by one....why were even the simplest tasks made difficult with this crew?  
"Strawhat?!" The woman gaped.  
"Luffy!" Isla called out to him, waving her cuffed hands.  
"Ma-blah?!" Luffy's stuffed mouth attempted to call out.  
"I'll stop him!" Tashigi whipped out a sword.  
Isla's eyes widened at the incredible speed. Luffy was faster though, he leapt over the woman's head and somersaulted up the building. His rubber arm stretched back and nabbed Isla.  
"Oh no," Isla whispered as she realized what was about to happen.  
Luffy slingshotted Isla up and over the building.  
"Ahhhhhh!" Isla screamed as she was launched through the air.   
Thankfully Luffy caught her as he leapt off the other side of the building. Isla squeezed him with all her might.  
"Gack!" Luffy choked at Isla's grip but kept up his run.  
"I am not a flying mammal!" Isla squealed at Luffy, her pure terror overriding her stutter.  
Luffy nodded quickly in agreement and Isla loosened her grip slightly.   
"N..nami sent me to find you," Isla told Luffy, "H..head to the ship!"  
Luffy gestured behind him where a white smoke cascaded over the side of the building at a rapid speed.  
"W...what?" Isla gaped.  
"Strawhat!" The smoke seemed to growl in the same gruff voice as the man from earlier.  
"Argh!" Luffy threw Isla over his shoulder and sped up as the smoke gained on them.  
A crowd of marines soon began chasing them as well.  
"He's got a hostage!" One of the marines shouted, pointing to Isla.  
"H...he...he's my captain actually," Isla attempted to correct them.  
"She's my crewmate!" Luffy shouted simultaneously.  
"What?"  
"Impossible!"  
"Capture them both!"  
"L....Lu...Luffy! We need to hurry to the ship," Isla urged him.  
"I'm lost," Luffy stated simply.  
"L....Luffy!" Isla cried in shock at her captain's stupidity.  
"Hey there's Zoro, let's ask him," Luffy called out, "HEY ZORO!"  
"Don't point me out you idiot!" Zoro yelled back.  
"It's the Strawhat crew!" One the marines pointed out.  
"Come back after you lost them you idiot!" Nami ordered.  
"Oh everyone is here," Luffy cheered.  
"Stand back men," Captain Smoker growled as he prepared another attack.  
"L...Luffy!" Isla warned.  
"Right running!" Luffy sped up just as Smoker launched his attack.  
A column of smoke was heading right towards them! Then the smoke dissipated in a flash of flames. At the center of which stood a man in an orange hat.  
"W...who?" Isla mumbled awestruck at the man's display of strength.  
"Ace!" Luffy cheered.  
The strange man turned towards them and grinned.  
"We can't catch up like this," he smiled, "I'll hold them off for you guys."  
"Ok!" Luffy agreed before turning towards the rest of the crew, "Run for it guys!"  
"What? Wait who is that?" Nami questioned.  
"Who cares? Just run!" Usopp yelled.  
"W...wait! L...luffy I can run by myself!" Isla objected.  
"Or at least let me hold her," Sanji interjected, "That's no way to hold a lady!"  
"Sorry Lala, no time!"   
"Her name is Isla!" Nami yelled in exasperation.  
The orange hatted man was true to his word and the Strawhat crew was able to escape to their ship with no issues. Once on board, Nami set about preparing the ship and the supplies for their long journey. Vivi sent Carou ahead on a secret mission. Honestly, Isla was distracted trying to take the cuffs off her wrist to pay too much attention.  
"You got what?!" Nami screeched when Isla explained how she had found Luffy.  
"C...captured?" Isla admitted sheepishly.  
"I sent you to do one thing," Nami groaned.  
"Technically she did find Luffy," Usopp pointed out as he attempted to lock pick Isla's cuffs.  
Nami smacked him across the head.  
"Not helping," Nami growled at him.   
"Ah my tools!" Usopp yelped as one broke in the lock.  
"I could always cut off her hands," Zoro suggested.  
"I...I... guys," Isla attempted to interrupt.  
"Why would anyone want that?!" Nami screeched.  
"G...guys I think I can," Isla tried again.  
"Just a suggestion," Zoro shrugged.  
"A stupid suggestion," Sanji growled, "How dare you suggest my sweet cut off her beautiful hands?!"  
"G...guys," Isla attempted to grab their attention.  
"I didn't see you come up with anything!" Zoro argued.  
"No ideas are better than a stupid idea!"  
"G...guys!"  
"Say that again Curly brows!"  
"Oh Isla you got them off," Vivi noted.  
The crew turned to look at Isla who was holding a pair of mangled cuffs.  
"How?" Usopp ogled.  
"I...I just pulled with my hands," Isla told them.  
The crew deadpanned at her casual explanation.  
"You really are freakishly strong," Zoro stated before patting Isla on the head, "Good job."  
Isla blushed at the unusual praise.   
"Shitty swordsman, keep your filthy hands off my sweet!"  
"So who was that man that rescued us earlier?" Nami asked, switching topics.  
"My brother, Ace," Luffy grinned.  
"YOU HAVE A BROTHER?!" The entire crew shouted in unison.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah! Ace!!!!! Gotta love Ace.


	12. Sand, Sand, Everywhere

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The crew meets Ace and begins their desert adventure. Isla and Chopper find it most unpleasant.

"Yeah," Luffy gushed, "Ace is my older brother and he's super strong! He left the island 3 years before me but even back then he kicked my ass."  
"Huh, wonder what the chances are of two brothers ending up with a Devil Fruit," Sanji pondered.  
"That surprised me too," Luffy laughed, "He didn't have that before. Still I think I'm strong enough to kick his ass now."  
"You're strong enough to kick whose ass now?" A new voice asked playfully.  
"Gah!" Luffy tumbled off the railing and onto the deck in shock.  
Ace, now perched on the ship's railing, chuckled at his brother's antics.  
"You must be my little brother's crew," Ace greeted them, "Pleasure to meet you all. Thank you for taking care of my brother, I know he can be a handful."  
Isla blushed. Not only was Ace polite but he was also handsome and topless as well. She blushed harder at that thought and quickly turned to look at her toes.  
"Yeah he is," Zoro chuckled fondly, "But he's our captain."  
"You know my crew?" Luffy asked with all the enthusiasm of a typical little brother.  
"Course," Ace nodded, "I've been keeping an eye out for your wanted posters since your birthday."  
"There's Zoro," Ace pointed to each crew member as he named them, "Nami, Usopp, and Sanji. Don't know your latest members."  
"That's Vivi, she's a princess!" Luffy announced excitedly.  
"Nice to meet you, your majesty," Ace greeted.  
"Luffy," Nami groaned, "That's supposed to be a secret."  
Luffy didn't seem to hear her as he continued on.  
"This is Chopper!" Luffy lifted Chopper up to show Ace, "He's a talking reindeer! And he has seven forms! And he's a doctor!"  
"Very cool," Ace nodded, "Hello Dr. Chopper."  
"Shut up stupid! You're just saying that," Chopper said as he blushed and did his little happy dance.  
"And this is Lala!" Luffy reached over to grab Isla.  
"It's Isla!" Nami corrected.  
"O...oh n..no thanks," Isla stuttered as she attempted to squirm out of Luffy's grasp.  
She was just fine not being the center of attention. Unfortunately rubber arms are hard to escape so Luffy won their little scuffle and pulled her in front of his brother. Isla froze up as her eyes met Ace's.  
"She's a selkie!" Luffy bragged, "And she's freakishly strong!"  
"I...it...it's n...not t...that fr...freaky," Isla attempted to defend herself, but her nerves made her stutter worse.  
"Wow even I haven't met a selkie before, they're mighty rare," Ace admitted, "It's a pleasure to meet you Isla."  
Ace grabbed her hand and placed a kiss on the back of it. Isla flushed so badly she was sure steam was coming out of her ears. She couldn't tear her eyes away from Ace, suddenly she felt weak.  
"Oh no! She's gonna faint!" Chopper called out in a panic, "Somebody get a doctor!"  
"You're the doctor!" Usopp, Nami, and Sanji shouted at him.  
"Oh yeah," Chopper said before poofing into his brawn form and scooping Isla up.  
Isla didn't even put up a fight as Chopper carried her aside and leaned her against the mast to rest. Sanji appeared milliseconds later with a drink and the two fussed over her so much that Isla wished she had fainted instead. Eventually, Nami shooed Sanji and Chopper away so Isla could have some much needed space. By the time Isla finally managed to collect herself, Ace was leaving.  
"I'll take care of any marines following you guys," Ace informed them before leaping from the ship's railing to his little dingy.  
"And Luffy," Ace shouted back, "Next time I'll see you will be at the Pirate's Summit!"  
"Yeah!" Luffy cheered.  
With that, Ace tipped his hat and fired up his engine, leaving a trail of smoke behind.  
"What a cool guy," Sanji stated.  
"Yeah, he's really different than Luffy," Usopp added.  
"And so polite too," Vivi noted.  
"Nothing like our captain," Nami pointed out.  
The crew nodded in agreement.  
Luffy was oblivious to the insults.  
"Ace really is the coolest," Luffy laughed.  
"Y...yeah," Isla agreed with a small blush.  
"But not cooler than me, right Isla?" Sanji jumped in.  
"No way! Ace is cooler!" Luffy argued.  
"I asked Isla!" Sanji kicked Luffy, "No one cares about your opinion."  
"You're mean," Luffy stuck out his tongue at Sanji.  
Sanji ignored him. He grabbed Isla's hands and pulled her close to him. Isla blushed.  
"Right, my sweet?" Sanji pleaded with Isla, "You find me to be the coolest?"  
"W...well," Isla looked away from Sanji's begging face.  
"You don't?" Sanji cried heartbroken.  
"I...I well," Isla found it hard to resist Sanji's begging.  
So Isla did what Isla did best in these awkward situations, she turned into a seal and waddled away.  
"Isla!" Sanji sobbed.

If Isla thought she hated the desert before, she really hated it now. Despite her new desert-proof attire (with her fur tucked safely underneath), Isla still felt like she was melting. The sun beat down on the Strawhat crew relentlessly as they travelled through the dessert to Yuba. Not only was she hot, but the sand was awful to walk through. It burned her feet so much Isla was forced to wear actual shoes. To put it bluntly, Isla was miserable. She hated the heat, she hated wearing shoes, and her body yearned for the cool ocean. Still, whatever pain she was in, Chopper had it worse. The poor reindeer was being dragged along on a sled by Zoro.  
"So hot," Chopper panted.  
At least Isla's fur was removable and could be hidden, Chopper was trapped in his thick fur.  
"Water," Luffy rasped, "I need water."  
"You can have one mouthful," Vivi lectured, "It's important for us to conserve water."  
Luffy ballooned our his mouth with water.  
"Not that much!" Nami yelled as Sanji kicked Luffy.  
It may have been the heat getting to her but Isla was starting to get used to her crew's antics.  
Usopp teased Chopper, who transformed into his brawn form, and tackled him into the sand. The two rolled around in the sand as Zoro yelled at them.  
Isla sighed. Yeah this was her new normal. Still, where did they get all that energy?  
"We can rest and have more water when we get to those rocks," Vivi kindly told a whining Luffy.  
Isla shaded her eyes to peer into the distance. Those rocks? Isla wanted to cry. They were so far away! Isla was sure she was going to die of heatstroke long before they reached them.  
"Uh...Vi...Vivi," Isla spoke up, "E...exactly how far away is Yuba?"  
"Huh," Vivi looked over, "About half a day, why?"  
"N...no reason," Isla fibbed, looking away.  
Now she was really going to cry. They had barely been in the desert for an hour and Isla was ready to quit. She's rather be flying than this!  
"Are you doing alright?" Nami asked.  
"I..I'm fine," Isla assured her, "J...just hot."  
"You really should have left your fur on the ship," Nami told her, "It's not like we need a seal in the dessert."  
She had a point, but Isla couldn't bring herself to leave her fur behind. It had been hard enough lending it to Luffy in an emergency! Leaving her fur behind would be like leaving the house naked. Sure, she could physically do it, but she didn't want to!  
"I...I can't," Isla whined.  
She knew it was her fault she was so hot, there was no reason to rub it in!  
"I'll carry you in my arms, my sweet!" Sanji declared with hearts in his eyes.  
"N...no thank you!" Isla cried before running ahead to catch up with the others.  
Isla panted heavily as she pulled up besides Usopp. Usopp looked between her and the crying Sanji and busted out laughing.  
"H...hey!" Isla objected between breaths.  
"Sorry, sorry," Usopp apologized.  
He was still chuckling so Isla didn't believe him. She leveled her best glare at him.  
Usopp laughed harder. Isla pouted.  
"It's just funny," Usopp explained once he calmed down, "Sanji's so desperate for affection and you hate it."  
"I...I don't hate it!" Isla argued, "I...I."  
She fumbled for a reason that didn't involve explaining her lonely childhood.  
She had nothing.  
"Oh yeah," Usopp raised an eyebrow, "Then let me hug you."  
"F...fine," Isla agreed.  
Usopp slowly moved closer to her, both arms raised for a hug. The closer he got the more uncomfortable Isla felt. But she could bare it! She was going to prove her point damn it. Usopp was mere millimeters away, his arms closing in. Isla could do this! She could do this!  
Nope she couldn't do this.  
Isla poofed into a seal to escape the hug.  
Usopp smirked at her.  
Isla reluctantly poofed back.  
"T...that doesn't count," she noted, "Oh, n...now there's sand stuck everywhere."  
"You're afraid of affection," Usopp singsonged at her.  
Isla was tempted to take a page out of Nami's book and whack him. Instead she tried to brush the sand out of her clothes. The heat was making her cranky.  
"W...where's Luffy?" Isla not so subtly changed the subject.  
"He ran ahead ten minutes ago," Zoro answered.  
Oh, maybe Isla should have paid more attention. Then again no one else seemed concerned about their captain's whereabouts. Besides it was oddly peaceful without him.  
At that moment, Luffy came racing back.  
"Chopper!" Luffy yelled, "Chopper you gotta hurry! There are injured birds!"  
"Injured birds?" Vivi repeated before a look of realization cross her face, "Oh no!"  
The crew quickly followed Luffy and made haste to the rocks. Once they got there, there was nothing. No birds and unfortunately no supplies.  
"I knew it," Vivi gasped, "Luffy those were Thief Birds. They trick you and steal your supplies."  
"What?!" Luffy cried in shock.  
"You idiot!" Sanji stomped their captain, "That was enough supplies for a week!"  
Isla didn't think that was fair. Luffy had merely been trying to help. Sure he shouldn't have left their supplies behind but it was the intention that counted.  
"You have to admire their trickery," Nami added.  
"Of course you would admire that, witch," Zoro growled.  
"What did you call me?!" Nami growled.  
It seemed like the heat was making everyone cranky.  
"What do we do now?" Usopp asked.  
"Stupid birds," Luffy muttered, "I'll make them pay."  
With that Luffy raced off into the dessert.  
"Idiot," Nami scowled, "He doesn't even know where he's going."  
"Might as well rest while we wait," Zoro pointed out before immediately falling asleep in the shade.  
"Why not?" Usopp shrugged before flopping down near Zoro to rest.  
Isla, who was now even hotter and sweatier than before, agreed and joined Usopp on the ground. Chopper sat down next to her.  
"You guys are so lazy," Nami sighed.  
"I'm not made for the heat," Chopper defended his actions.  
"S...same," Isla concurred, "Fu...fur sucks."  
"Uh-huh," Chopper nodded.  
"Fine," Nami turned to Vivi, "Let's count what supplies we have left and check the maps."  
Isla managed to fall into a blissful sleep where she dreamed of the ocean and all the fish she could eat. That is until she was awoken by the sound if screaming.  
"Ahhhhhh!!!!!"  
Isla sleepily sat up. She looked around. She didn't see anyone screaming.  
"Ahhhhhh!!!!!"  
She heard it again. This time it sounded louder.  
"Ch...Chopper," Isla nudged the sleeping doctor, "Ch...Chopper do you hear that?"  
"Shut up stupid," Chopper mumbled in his sleep, "I'm not the best doctor ever!"  
He even did his little dance in his sleep.  
"Ahhhhhh!!!"  
Isla was sure the sound was getting closer. She got up and walked around their campsite to the direction the sound was coming from. Isla peered into the distance. Her eyesight wasn't enhanced on land (although she was able to somewhat see in the dark) but she could distantly make out a cloud of dust and a dot of red coming towards them. As Isla watched the dot come closer, she finally saw what was causing the dust cloud.  
"Oh shit."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Chopper. Poor Isla. I imagine, unlike Luffy, Isla is too shy to ask for water and just suffers. I torture her so. Also I skipped the little creatures Luffy befrienss because I can't imagine Isla was any use during that scene. She doesn't speak animal and she's too nice to fight them. She probably just stood around apologizing.


	13. A Camel of a Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Isla and the crew learn there are more dangers in the desert than just heat. And then there's this strange camel.

Luffy was being chased by a ginormous alligator. Or perhaps it was a crocodile. Isla never had learned the difference as she was a sea-dwelling creature. Nonetheless, it was ginormous and it was fast!  
"Gu...guys!" Isla attempted to get the crew's attention, "Guys wake up!"  
Her small voice didn't rouse anybody. Even Nami and Vivi had joined in napping so Isla was the only one awake.  
"Gu...guys!" Isla pleaded, "Wa...wake up!"  
Zoro stirred a little but he merely rolled over and went back to snoring. Oh great, it looked like she had no choice but to shake them awake. Isla looked over her options. Nami was terrifying in the mornings so that was a no. Zoro may accidentally stab her so that was also a no. Usopp would probably see the creature and pass out so he was out. Vivi was nice and she actually lived here so she might know what to do, so Isla frantically shook her awake.  
"Miss Selkie," Vivi yawned, "What is it? Did Mr. Captain come back?"  
Isla pointed towards the quickly approaching Luffy and crocodile. Or perhaps alligator. Maybe desert monster was a better term.  
"Oh no!" Vivi gasped, "Everybody wake up!"  
Immediately the crew began to get up. Isla was only a tiny bit bitter that they had awoken to Vivian's cries to get up and not her own.  
"They're notorious carnivores," Vivi was explaining, "It will definitely eat Mr. Captain and the rest of us! We need to run!"  
"I have can't-be-eaten-itis!" Usopp exclaimed.  
"I...I don't want to be eaten either!" Chopper cried.  
"Psh," Zoro scoffed, "I'll take care of it."  
He pulled out his swords.  
"Not if I do first," Sanji stepped up besides Zoro.  
Isla, who did not fancy being eaten either, did not have time for the boys showing off. She glanced at the large rocks they were resting under. Isla ran over and scooped one up.  
"Hurricane Toss!" She cried before quickly spinning around and letting the rock go.  
It went flying through the air and landed atop the desert monster's head, smashing him into the ground.  
Isla's thrown rock landed at the same time as Sanji's kick, Zoro's slash, and Luffy's punch. Suffice to say overkill was an understatement.  
"Hey Sanji, can we eat it?" Luffy asked.  
"Yeah it looks edible," Sanji said as he studied the large reptile.  
"Monsters, you guys are monsters," Usopp declared, his knees still shaking.  
Well monsters was better than freak right? At least this time Isla was grouped with some of the crew and their oddities.  
"Moss head," Sanji called rudely, "Move this rock off and help me cut this thing."  
"Have Isla do it," Zoro argued, "She threw it in the first place."  
"How dare you suggest making a lady do the work!"  
"She's no lady," Zoro scoffed.  
Isla really didn't want somebody else to be responsible for cleaning up her mess so she hurried over and lifted the rock. In the process, she managed to get blood and bodily fluids all over her sleeves. Crushing a creature was not a clean death  
"See?" Zoro pointed to Isla and her sleeves.  
Isla blushed. She knew gore was supposed to make people squeamish but she spent half her time as an animal who killed things with her teeth and claws. Granted, killing things underwater was slightly cleaner, but it was still a messy gorey process.  
"Isla is a beautiful mistress of the sea all the time!" Sanji insisted.  
Sanji spun around to Isla and took her hands in his.  
"You look darling even with blood running down your arms," Sanji swooned.  
Isla worried slightly for Sanji's sanity, but she still blushed at the compliment. She had never been complimented for her beauty after a kill. It was oddly endearing.  
"What's with the camel?" Nami interrupted, pointing to a lone camel standing nearby.  
"Dunno," Luffy shrugged, "He was running so I started running and that thing chased us."  
"It must belong to someone," Vivi pointed out, "It has a saddle."  
The camel made some sort of noise which Isla paid no attention to as she attempted to clean her sleeves in the sand. Sanji unhelpfully fretted over her shoulder.  
"He says he is a traveling camel," Chopper translated, "He says thank you for saving him and offered to give us a ride."  
"Cool!" Luffy yelled before attempting to scramble up the camel's back.  
Luffy barely sat in the saddle before the camel bucked him off.  
"Hey!" Luffy whined as he spat out a mouthful of sand.  
"He also says he only gives rides to females," Chopper added.  
"Sexist cow!" Luffy objected.  
"It's a camel," Vivi corrected.  
"Still sexist," Usopp groused.  
Isla giggled as she had seen the crew have the same reaction to Sanji feeding the women first.  
"What's funny?" Zoro asked with a raised eyebrow.  
Isla blushed at having been caught, but felt compelled to tell Zoro her thoughts. His face was scary.  
"It...it's the Sanji of camels," Isla explained.  
There was a stunned silence before Zoro, Usopp, and Luffy burst out laughing.  
"My sweet! I am nothing like that camel!" Sanji pleaded with Isla.  
"You kinda are," Usopp chuckled.  
"Sanji and the camel are the same!" Luffy howled with laugher as he rolled around in the sand.  
"I just think the camel has refined taste," Nami disagreed.  
Nami went up to the camel, patted it gently, and then climbed into the saddle. The camel brayed happily.  
"See?" Nami announced, "He just prefers a gentler touch."  
"Oh Nami my angel!" Sanji called, "You have a way with beasts!"  
The camel spit at Sanji, who dodged gracefully, and then glared at it.  
"What should I call you?" Nami pondered while ignoring the spat between camel and man.  
"Sexist," offered Luffy.  
"Pervert," offered Usopp.  
"Sanji," smirked Zoro.  
A quick rumble broke out between the two men. The rest of the crew ignored them.  
"I think I'll call you Eyelashes," Nami decided.  
Isla blinked. That name was possibly the worst out of all the options, but she decided to keep that opinion to herself. The camel seemed happy with its terrible name anyway.  
Eventually the crew settled down and Sanji served up some fresh meat. It wasn't the same as water (and it certainly wasn't as good as fish) but it was refreshing. Then it was back to walking in the desert.  
"Hey Isla, you want a ride?" Nami gestured to the spot behind her on the camel.  
Isla may have been hot and dehydrated but she'd rather risk the desert then sit on the pervert camel. When she listened too closely she could somewhat make out what it was saying and that was enough to make her walk.  
"N...no thank you!" Isla frantically shook her head.  
"Your lost," Nami shrugged before pulling Vivi aboard.  
"Away Eyelashes!" Nami commanded and the camel sped off.  
"Huh, he's faster than I thought," Usopp muttered.  
"If you get lost you'll never make it out if this desert alive!" Nami teased the crew.  
"Screw you!" Zoro yelled.  
"I still love you Nami!" Sanji shouted.  
The camel began to disappear into the distance.   
"Hurry up, we gotta follow it!" Zoro commanded.  
Never-mind Isla should have taken the camel ride. Walking in the desert was one thing, but running was a whole different kind of torture.  
"Stop right there!" Luffy slurred, "I'mmma gonnna kick all yours asses!"  
"L...Luffy?" Isla squeaked in surprise as Luffy swung his arms around at nothing.  
"Is he having hallucinations?" Sanji asked.  
"Ah! A tsunami!" Luffy yelled, "I'm drowning!"  
"Do you think it could have been that cactus he ate?" Usopp questioned.  
"A cactus? Like that one?" Chopper pointed to a round cactus nearby.  
"Yeah just like that," Usopp answered, "He ate it with the lizard meat."  
Oh it was a lizard they ate earlier. Isla really needed to work on her animal identification.  
"That kind of cactus causes hallucinations!" Chopper freaked out.  
"Gommu gommu gomu," Luffy muttered as he swung his arms around again.  
Then Luffy suddenly fell to the ground asleep.  
"Tranquilizer!" Chopper yelled triumphantly as he held up a used needle.  
"Good job, Chopper!" Sanji gave him a thumbs up.  
Isla's respect and fear of the tiny doctor increased.  
"That stupid camel is getting away!" Zoro pointed out.  
"Oh no!" Isla gasped.  
Usopp and her immediately gave chase as Zoro and Sanji each grabbed their captain's leg and began pulling him along.   
"Wait for me!" Chopper cried running after them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Isla is so over the crew's shenanigans but she can't bring herself to say anything so she just goes with it.

**Author's Note:**

> The Straw Hat crew is way too amusing to write. :D  
> Also I couldn't help but imagine this:  
> “I will fight you on behalf of all women!” Sanji declared passionately.  
> "Pass," all women declared simultaneously.  
> Sani wept.


End file.
